Amusements at Cherry-Blossom Viewing Time

Artist/Culture Miyagawa Choshun (Japanese, 1682–1752)

DateKyoho Era (1716–1736)

MediumPair of six-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold on paper

Dimensionsoverall: 130.8 x 296.2 cm (51 1/2 x 116 5/8 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineHarriet B. Bancroft Fund & Stoddard Acquisition Fund

Terms

Object number1993.72.2

DescriptionA woman pours tea at an elegant teahouse in downtown Edo (now Tokyo) in this detail from an eighteenth century screen. Located in the trendy, amusement area of Ryōgoku Bridge, this teahouse provided a place where wealthy merchants could listen to music and meet fashionable, accomplished women. Japanese artists like Choshun idealized these neighborhoods through the use of gold leaf, delicate details and images of blossoming cherry trees.

Label TextThe preeminent painter of the first half of the eighteenth century, Miyagawa Choshun was the founder of the mainstream of ukiyo-e painting, or pictures of the floating world. Known for his hanging scrolls of beautiful women and handscrolls of seasonal genre scenes, he did not design woodblock prints or illustrated books as did most artists of this school. Only one other pair of screens, in a Japanese collection, is attributed to him. These rare screens are marvels of execution. All the figures interact convincingly to create a sense of relaxed merriment. The right screen depicts a cherry-blossom-viewing party at an elegant Edo teahouse. Men and women enjoy activities both indoors and out: drinking sake, playing the samisen, and strolling beside the pond. The left screen represents boating on Edo's Sumida River. The famous Ryogoku Bridge, the center of the most important Edo amusement area, is shown on the far right. In the individualization and variety of characters crossing the bridge and walking along the riverbank, these exquisite screens reflect the influence of Hishikawa Morunobu (died 1694), whom Choshun acknowledged as his stylistic source. The delicacy and elegance of line and color reveal Choshun's personal style. No detail is treated summarily; attention is paid to describing the patterns of textiles, the decoration on lacquer and porcelains, and the materials and construction of architecture.ProvenanceLeighton Longhi, 1115 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128

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