The Farmer (No) from the series Beauties Illustrating the Four Social Classes (Adesugata shi no ko sho)
c. 1779
Medium
Color woodblock print; koban
Dimensions
20.7 × 15.1 cm (8 3/16 × 6 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21221
Art Historical Context
In the late Edo period, Torii Kiyonaga (1752–1815), a leading ukiyo-e artist renowned for his elegant bijin-ga (images of beautiful women), created *The Farmer (No)* around 1779 as part of his series *Beauties Illustrating the Four Social (Adesugata shi no ko sho)*. This color woodblock print captures a graceful woman embodying the farmer class—one of Japan's traditional four social strata (samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants). Kiyonaga's work reflects the "floating world" culture of urban pleasure districts, where idealized beauties transcend rigid class boundaries, blending everyday li...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815
Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...