Artwork Page for New Yoshiwara (Shin Yoshiwara), from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital

Details / Information for New Yoshiwara (Shin Yoshiwara), from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital

Series Title: 東都名所

New Yoshiwara (Shin Yoshiwara), from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital

新吉原

early 1830s

Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川 国芳

(Japanese, 1797–1861)
Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
color woodblock print
Measurements
Sheet: 24.5 x 36.9 cm (9 5/8 x 14 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore 1930.202
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

In this dramatic night scene, Kuniyoshi emphasized the moon and its huge glowing halo. He employed Western-style shadows beneath the figures and the palanquin. The man at the center is singing with his mouth wide open. Perhaps he is headed home after drinking in New Yoshiwara, the pleasure quarter, visible only as a series of low rooflines in the background beyond the rice paddies. The chatting pair and wealthy passenger inside the palanquin may be on their way to the pleasure quarter.
A horizontal woodblock print depicts five people with light skin tones on a path under a massive, pale moon. To our left, two women in patterned robes stand together. In the center, a man in a blue striped robe looks toward our right with his mouth open. To our right, two men carry a green litter. Red seals with Japanese text float in the blue sky above a distant village and trees.

New Yoshiwara (Shin Yoshiwara), from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital

early 1830s

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

(Japanese, 1797–1861)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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