Playing Battledore and Shuttlecock
c. 1765/70
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
28.2 × 21 cm (11 1/8 × 8 1/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21066
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *Playing Battledore andcock* (c. 1765/70) captures a joyful moment of childhood play in Edo-period Japan. This color woodblock print depicts young girls engrossed in hanetsuki, a traditional game similar to battledore and shuttlecock, played during New Year's celebrations to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune. Harunobu, a pioneering ukiyo-e artist, masterfully blends delicate beauty with everyday life, showcasing his signature style of graceful figures and vibrant seasonal scenes. Printed in the chuban format (28.2 × 21 cm), this intimate-scale work exemplifies Har...
About the Artist
Suzuki Harunobu · 1725–1770
Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725-1770) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who revolutionized woodblock printing by developing nishiki-e—full-color prints using multiple woodblocks—in 1765. Before Harunobu, Japanese prints were limited to two or three colors; his innovation unleashed the entire artist's palette, transforming ukiyo-e into the vibrant art form that would later captivate Western artists from Manet...