勝景眺望山水画譜|Prospects and Views, Picture Album of Landscapes (Shōkei chōbō, Sansui gafu 勝景眺望山水画譜)
preface dated 1826
Medium
Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
7 3/16 × 4 13/16 in. (18.3 × 12.2 cm)
Classification
Illustrated Books
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013
Accession Number
2013.653
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the tranquil world of Edo-period Japan with *Prospects and Views, Album of Landscapes* (*ōkei chōbō, Sansui gafu*), a delicate woodblock-printed book by artist Kōkunsai Bairin. Prefaced in 1826, this album—measuring just 7 3/16 × 4 13/16 inches—features ink and color on paper capturing majestic mountains, sweeping landscapes, and subtle human figures. Produced during the late Edo period (1615–1868), it exemplifies the era's fascination with *sansui* (mountain-water) painting traditions, blending poetic natural vistas with everyday wanderers. Woodblock printing revolutionized Japanes...