The Jewel River at Chōfu (Chōfu no Tamagawa)
ca. 1768
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
10 5/8 x 7 3/4 in. (27 x 19.7 cm) medium-size print (chu-ban)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1946
Accession Number
JP3022
Tags
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *The Jewel River at Chōfu (Chōfu no Tamagawa)*, created around 1768, captures the serene beauty of Edo-period Japan through a delicate woodblock print. This *chu-ban* (medium-size) work from the ukiyo-e tradition—"pictures of the floating world"—depicts elegant women along the Jewel River at Chōfu, one of Japan's fabled Eight Famous Tamagawa rivers celebrated in poetry for its sparkling waters. Harunobu, a pioneer of full-color *nishiki-e* prints introduced just three years earlier, elevated printmaking with vibrant hues and intricate details, making art accessible beyond eli...
About the Artist
Suzuki Harunobu · 1725–1770
Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725-1770) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who revolutionized woodblock printing by developing nishiki-e—full-color prints using multiple woodblocks—in 1765. Before Harunobu, Japanese prints were limited to two or three colors; his innovation unleashed the entire artist's palette, transforming ukiyo-e into the vibrant art form that would later captivate Western artists from Manet...