The Front Room of the Naniwaya (Naniwaya misesaki)
c. 1800
Medium
Color woodblock prints; aiban triptych
Dimensions
Right sheet: 32.7 × 22.7 cm (12 7/8 × 8 15/16 in.); Center sheet: 32.6 × 22.3 cm (12 7/8 × 8 13/16 in.); Left sheet: 32.1 × 22.4 cm (12 11/16 × 8 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
87423
Art Historical Context
Eishosai Choki “The Front Room of the Naniwaya” (c. 1800) offers a charming glimpse into everyday life in Edo-period Japan. Created as a color woodblock-print triptych in the aiban format, work depicts the lively interior of a shop or teahouse, with figures engaged in conversation and commerce across three connected sheets. The modest yet elegant dimensions of each panel allow the composition to unfold like a small stage set when displayed together. Woodblock printing was the dominant reproductive medium of its time, enabling artists to distribute colorful, affordable images that captured the...