Two Tall Young Women Walking Hand in Hand
ca. 1785
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
26 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (66.7 x 12.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
JP2618
Tags
Art Historical Context
Torii Kiyonaga's *Two Tall Young Women Walking in Hand* (ca. 1785) is a captivating woodblock print from Japan's Edo period (16151868), a time of urban prosperity and cultural flourishing in cities like Edo (modern Tokyo). This narrow, vertical *hashira-e* ( print), measuring 26¼ x 4¾ inches, was designed to adorn narrow architectural spaces like pillars, making art accessible to everyday households. Kiyonaga, a leading figure in the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition, excelled in *bijin-ga*—depictions of beautiful women—capturing the elegance and poise of courtesans or youn...
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...