The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Hanaōgi of Ōgiya from the series Picture Puzzles

c. 1797

Kitagawa Utamaro

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Color woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Sheet: 37.6 x 25.4 cm (14 13/16 x 10 in.)
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.359
Location: Not on view

Description

In this tricky print, one must decode the small pictures in the rectangle at the upper left corner to learn the identity of the subject of the print: a woman whose name means "Flower Fan," her place of work called the "House of Fans," and what she is doing—emerging from a mosquito net.
  • ?–1942
    Henri Vever [1854–1942], France
    March 26, 1974
    (Sotheby & Co., London, UK, March 26, 1974, part I, lot 201)
    1974–?
    (R. E. Lewis, Inc., California, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith)
    ?–1985
    The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1985–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sotheby's London. Highly Important Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books and Drawings, from the Henri Vever Collection: Part I. March 26, 1974. Reproduced: p. 172, lot no. 201
    Sotheby's London. Highly Important Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books and Drawings, from the Henri Vever Collection: Part I. March 26, 1974. Reproduced: p. 172, lot no. 201
    “Checklist of the Kelvin Smith Bequest.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 7 (September 1988): 292–295. Mentioned: p. 293 www.jstor.org
  • Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - September 2016-January 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 19, 2016-January 8, 2017).
    Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 7, 1993-January 2, 1994).
    A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14-November 13, 1988).
    Japanese Woodblock Prints: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art Education Department, Cleveland, OH, 1980
  • {{cite web|title=Hanaōgi of Ōgiya from the series Picture Puzzles|url=false|author=Kitagawa Utamaro|year=c. 1797|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.359