The Shika Teahouse
Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese, 1769–1825)
early 1790s
Medium
One of a triptych of color woodblock prints
Dimensions
39.1 × 25.6 cm
Classification
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1916.1113.a
Tags
male
About this artwork
Exotic birds and tobacco—Western imports—feature in this composition. Peacocks and parrots were brought to Japan by Dutch traders in the 1700s. Many of the visitors to this teahouse, which specialized in displays of foreign birds, admire the unusual fowl while sipping tea and smoking long pipes. The birds have attracted curious courtesans, entertainers, samurai, merchants and their wives, and even a Buddhist monk.