Tenman Shrine Bell
1860s
Medium
Color woodblock print; surimono
Dimensions
11.6 × 36.7 cm (4 5/8 × 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
43113
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia collection, *man Shrine Bell* is delicate color woodblock print Nakagawa Rogetsu, in the 1860s during Japan's late Edo period. Measuring just 11.6 × 36.7 cm, this intimate horizontal format captures the iconic bell of Tenman Shrine—likely a nod to the revered Tenmangu shrines dedicated to the scholar-god Sugawara no Michizane. Rogetsu, a skilled ukiyo-e artist, renders the bell with precise lines and vibrant hues, evoking the shrine's spiritual aura amid a time of social upheaval before the Meiji Restoration. As a *surimono*, this print e...