Women Impersonating the Seven Gods of Good Fortune (Shichifukujin)

Artist Utagawa Toyokuni I 歌川豊国 (Japanese, 1769–1825)

Publisherpublished by Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudō)

Dateabout 1800

Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper

DimensionsVertical ōban diptych (incomplete triptych): 37.8 x 49.7 cm (14 7/8 x 19 9/16 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Object number1901.137

DescriptionRight and middle sheets of an incomplete triptych
Label TextToyokuni I’s career encouraged the popularization of diptychs (two-print sets) and triptychs (three-print sets) during the Edo period (1603-1868). The larger formats appealed to consumers because they allowed for the depiction of more expansive vistas, dramatic scenes, and larger groups of figures. Each panel could also be collected separately. For this reason, reassembled diptychs and triptychs can sometimes include prints in varying conditions or even from different editions altogether. This work, collected as a diptych by Bancroft, was originally a triptych and is now missing its left panel. Within the total group, seven women are dressed as the “gods of fortune,” a collection of deities derived from Buddhist, Daoist, and Shinto traditions that first started appearing together in Japanese art in the 15th century. These beings often had celebratory connotations, making them a popular subject in art of the floating world.

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