Parody of a daimyo procession
c. 1805/07
Medium
Color woodblock prints; 6 of 12 sheets (see 1928.391-396)
Dimensions
Overall (twelve sheets: 23.5 × 102.9 cm (9 1/4 × 40 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
60537
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (160–1868), Uawa Toyohiro's *Parody of a Daimyo Procession* (c. 1805/07) captures the playful spirit of ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world" genre. Toyohiro, a master the Utagawa school and mentor to Hiroshige, this humorous woodblock print series as a satirical take on the grand processions of daimyo—powerful feudal lords whose elaborately regulated parades through city streets symbolized status and authority. By exaggerating the pomp with whimsical twists, Toyohiro poked fun at societal hierarchies, delighting viewers with lighthearted commen...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyohiro · 1763–1828
Utagawa Toyohiro (1763–1828) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist and painter who founded a major branch of the Utagawa school and is best remembered as the teacher of Utagawa Hiroshige, one of the greatest landscape print designers in Japanese art history. Born in Edo (present-day Tokyo), he studied under Utagawa Toyoharu, the founder of the Utagawa school, who was noted for introducing Western perspect...