Woodblock Print

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

This print offers a glimpse into Tokyo street life in the nineteenth century. Here, a beauty self-consciously tugs at her outfit while walking briskly to the theater. The text elaborates: “She is first going to the stage, where there are many beautiful ladies. So she took great care and neatly changed the way she wore her kimono.”

Caption

Utagawa Kuniyoshi Japanese, 1798–1861. Woodblock Print, ca. 1830. Woodblock print, 14 5/8 x 10 5/16 in. (37.1 x 26.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Anonymous gift, 76.151.19. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 76.151.19_IMLS_PS4.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Asian Art

Title

Woodblock Print

Date

ca. 1830

Period

Edo period

Geography

Place made: Japan

Medium

Woodblock print

Classification

Print

Dimensions

14 5/8 x 10 5/16 in. (37.1 x 26.2 cm)

Signatures

Ichiyosai Kuniyoshi-ga

Markings

Censor seal: Kiwame Publisher's seal

Credit Line

Anonymous gift

Accession Number

76.151.19

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • So the red stamps on the prints are ownership marks?

    Typically the marks in red are the artist's seal. Publisher and censor marks would also appear on prints, but tend not to be red.
  • What can you tell me about the picture "Among Beautiful Ladies?"

    The woman in the print offers a glimpse into 19th century Tokyo street life. She's on her way to the theater and the text surrounding her reads "She is first going to the stage, where there are many beautiful ladies. So she took great care and neatly changed the way she wore her kimono." You can see that she is slightly adjusting her kimono in the print itself.
    This print falls into the genre of Ukiyo-e, a genre of woodblock prints and paintings that focus on the transitory world of pleasure and beauty. More specifically it is Aizuri-e, which are a monochrome type of Ukiyo-e print. In this case, the color used is blue. This print is further categorized as bijinga, which means literally "beautiful person picture."
  • Tell me more, please!

    I love the varieties of blue in this print. The color came from a newly developed chemical color called Prussian Blue. Before Prussian Blue was developed in Germany, Japanese printmakers used vegetable-based dyes and colors, which were not as bright and tended to fade quickly.

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