Two Geisha Holding a Shamisen and a Song Book
c. 1777
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
38.8 × 25.8 cm (15 1/4 × 10 1/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22457
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Japan, Kitao Shigemasa's *Two Geisha Holding aisen and a Song Book* (c. 1777) captures the elegance of the "floating world" (ukiyo-e). This color woodblock print, in the popular oban format measuring 38.8 × 25.8 cm, depicts two graceful geisha—one cradling a shamisen, the traditional three-stringed lute, and the other holding a songbookpoised in a moment of poised musical companionship. Produced during the Edo period, when ukiyo-e prints democratized art for urban pleasure-seekers, it exemplifies Shigemasa's mastery as a print designer known for his refined...
About the Artist
Kitao Shigemasa · 1739–1820
Kitao Shigemasa (1739–1820), born in the bustling Nihonbashi district of Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing during Japan's Edo period. The eldest son of the bookseller Suharaya Mohei—from a lineage of publishers—Shigemasa, originally named Kitabatake Tarōkichi, was immersed in the world of printing from youth. Largely self-taught, he later studied under t...