Visit to the Masaki Inari Shrine
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
Dimensions
37.6 × 25.1 cm (right sheet), 37.4 × 24.2 cm (center sheet), 37.6 × 25.6 cm (left sheet)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21540
Art Historical Context
Katsukawa Shunchô *Visit to the Masakiari Shrine* (1786) is a captivating color woodblock print from Japan's Edo period, presented as an oban triych—three large sheets (each around 37 x 25 cm) that combine to form a panoramic scene. This format was popular in ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world" genre, allowing artists to depict expansive, dynamic compositions of everyday life, festivals, and urban elegance. Shunchô, a master of the Katsukawa school, specialized in bijin-ga (images of beautiful women), infusing his works with graceful figures, vibrant kimonos, and subtle emotional dep...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunchô · 1780–1801
Katsukawa Shunchō was a Japanese designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints active from approximately 1780 to 1795, one of the most graceful practitioners of the art of bijinga — pictures of beautiful women. He trained in the studio of Katsukawa Shunshō, the founding master of the Katsukawa School, whose pupils also included the young Hokusai. Shunshō's school was primarily known for realistic portraits...