The Fifth Month (Gogatsu), from the series "The Twelve Months (Juni toki)"
c. 1791
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
25.8 × 19.1 cm (10 1/8 × 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
24046
Art Historical Context
Chôbunsai Eishi, a leading ukiyo-e artist Japan's Edo period (1603–1868), *The Fifth Month (Gatsu)* around 1791 as part of his series *The Twelve MonthsJuni toki)*. Eishi was renowned for his bijin-ga—elegant depictions of beautiful women—characterized by graceful figures, refined lines, and subtle color gradations that set him apart from contemporaries like Utam. This chuban-format print (a compact size ideal for affordable albums) captures the seasonal spirit of May (Gogatsu in the lunar calendar), evoking the "floating world" of fleeting pleasures and nature's rhythms central to ukiyo-e cul...
About the Artist
Chôbunsai Eishi · 1756–1829
Chôbunsai Eishi, born Hosoda Tokitomi in 1756 to a prosperous samurai family of the Fujiwara clan in Edo, inherited a substantial stipend of 500 koku of rice annually. His grandfather had served as the shogunate's Treasury Minister, and upon his father Hosoda Tokiyuki's death in 1772, Eishi became family head while holding a position in Shogun Tokugawa Ieharu's palace from 1781. Unusually for a uk...