The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

Net Fishing at Night

c. 1800

Kitagawa Utamaro

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
One of a triptych of color woodblock prints
Sheet: 38.4 x 25.4 cm (15 1/8 x 10 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.1116.c
Location: Not on view

Description

Pleasure-boating in the evening on the Sumida River to escape the summer’s heat was about as popular as viewing cherry blossoms in spring for Edo townspeople. The river also led the way to the Yoshiwara, the licensed brothel district. A boating party with courtesans and gentlemen jostles up next to a fishing boat. Utamaro enjoyed portraying a scene through the design of a fishing or mosquito net. The different colors of the net suggest these impressions may be from two different series.
  • ?–1916
    Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857–1926] and Mrs. Ellen Garretson Wade [1859–1917], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2004-April 10, 2005).
    Japanese Woodblock Prints: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Education Department (1980).
  • {{cite web|title=Net Fishing at Night|url=false|author=Kitagawa Utamaro|year=c. 1800|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1116.c