To-no Sawa (Name of one of the hot springs at Hakone)
ca. 1779
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
10 x 7 11/32 in. (25.4 x 18.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
Accession Number
JP720
Tags
Art Historical Context
Torii Kiyonaga's *To-no Sawa*, created around 1779, captures the leisurely allure of Hakone's famous hot springs during Japan's Edo period (16151868). This wood print, a hallmark of ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), depicts women—likely actresses from the vibrant Kabuki theater scene—enjoying the steamy waters of Tō Sawa, one of Hakone's renowned onsen. Kiyonaga, a master the Torii school, excelled in bijin-ga (images of beautiful women) and yakusha-e (actor portraits), blending elegance with everyday pleasures to reflect urban Japan's fascination with theater, travel, and sensuality...
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...