Set of Three Hanging Scrolls, Day Dream Plays (Kakemono sampukutsui utsusu no asobi)
c. 1755
Medium
Color woodblock print; uncut hosoban triptych, benizuri-e
Dimensions
29 × 25.7 cm (11 3/8 × 10 1/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19428
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo Japan, Nishimura Shigenaga's *Set of Three Hanging Scrolls, Day Dream PlaysKakemono sampukutsui utsusu noobi)*, created around 1755, captures the playful essence of ukiyo-e—the "pictures of the floating world" that celebrated fleeting pleasures. Shigenaga, a skilled printmaker known for his depictions of beautiful women (bijin-ga) anduki actors, crafted this uncut hosoban tript as a set mimicking traditional hanging scrolls (kakemono). Its compact size (29 × 25.7 cm) made it intimate and affordable for urban collectors savoring dreamlike scenes of leisu...
About the Artist
Nishimura Shigenaga · 1690–1758
Nishimura Shigenaga (c. 1697–1756) was a pioneering Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker born in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), where he initially worked as a landlord in the Tōriabura-chō district before relocating to Kanda-Sakumachō to operate a bookshop. Self-taught with no known formal teacher, he immersed himself in art around 1719, drawing early inspiration from the Torii school's yakusha-e (actor portraits...