Oranda|Dutch Couple
1st month, 1861
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Image: 14 3/8 x 9 5/8 in. (36.5 x 24.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
Accession Number
2007.49.195
Tags
About this artwork
Utagawa Yoshitora's "Oranda (Dutch Couple)" (1st month, 1861) belongs to the Yokohama-e genre—woodblock prints depicting foreigners in Yokohama following Japan's forced opening to Western trade after Commodore Perry's 1854 arrival. These prints satisfied Japanese curiosity about exotic Western visitors after over two centuries of strict isolation (with limited Dutch and Chinese trade permitted at Nagasaki). The title "Oranda" refers to Holland, whose merchants were Japan's primary Western contac...
About the Artist
Utagawa Yoshitora · 1845–1880
Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川 芳虎), also known by his art names Ichimōsai, Mōsai, and Kinchōrō, was a prolific ukiyo-e artist born in Edo (modern Tokyo), where he trained under the renowned Utagawa Kuniyoshi, recognized as his oldest pupil. Little is known of his early life, which remains sparsely documented, but his earliest works include illustrations for the book *Story of Karasu Kanzaemon’s Loyalty* in...