Returning Sails of the Towel Rack (Tenugui-kake no kihan), from the series "Eight Views of the Parlor (Zashiki hakkei)"
c. 1766
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban, surimono
Dimensions
28.7 × 21.4 cm (11 1/4 × 8 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88973
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *Returning Sails of theel Rack (Tenugui-kake no kihan)*, from the series * Views of the Parlor (Zashiki hakkei)*, captures a whimsical moment in everyday Japanese life around 1766. Part of a clever parody of the classic Chinese "Eight Views of Xiao-X" landscapes, this ukiyo-e woodblock print reimagines grand natural scenes as intimate domestic vignettes. Here, wet towels draped over a rack mimic the silhouettes of sails returning at dusk, evoking a poetic glow in a cozy parlor setting. Harunobu, a master of the Edo-period "floating world" genre, pioneered full-color *niishik...
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...