Pleasure Boat on the Sumida River
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
152.9 × 69.3 cm · painting only: 40 × 55.3 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
Accession Number
1985.262
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
After a major fire in Edo (now Tokyo), the Yoshiwara licensed brothel district was relocated to an area accessed via boat along the Sumida River, giving rise to many compositions depicting travel there. Here, attendants with checkered robes serve refreshment to a client. A figure at the fore of the boat tends to the kitchen. A courtesan at the aft, or rear, surveys the river scene. Acquaintances converse in modest commuter boats, and fishers put in to a tiny island. The boat is near the entrance...