Views of Ten Tea Houses: Takanawa / Torii Kiyonaga
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1960/1.143
- Title
- Views of Ten Tea Houses: Takanawa
- Artist
- Torii Kiyonaga
- Artist Nationality
- Japanese
- Artist Life Dates
- 1752 - 1815
- Medium and Support
- Chûban (medium-size) nishiki-e (full-color woodblock print) on paper
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1783
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- Japan (nation)
- Kanto (region)
- Tokyo (metropolis)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Japan (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Kanto (region)
- Creation Place 4
- Tokyo (metropolis)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Style/Group/Movement
- ukiyo e
- Inscription
- Signed
- Dimensions
- ()
- Century
- 19th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Primary Object Type
- color print
- Physical Description
- In this print, one of a series of ten views of "tea house" districts, Kiyonaga has depicted two women and a child strolling along the shore by the sea wall at Takanawa. A woman at left shields her eyes from the summer sun with her fan, and has her obi tied in front of her. The younger looking companion holding her hand wears a gaily flowered kimono, which has fallen wide open. A child walks with them, gesturing to the side of the print. The front portion of a boat and wall of a town or temple lie behind them.
- This is an especially well-preserved print, where even the indigo blue is still visible.
- Subject Matter
- Outside of the licensed pleasure quarter of Yoshiwara, there were several unlicensed brothel districts in Edo. When Yoshiwara was devastated by a fire in the 1780s, these heretofore disreputable areas were spruced up and briefly became the major entertainment attractions in town. Few artists capture the déclassé atmosphere of these environs as well as Torii Kiyonaga.
- In this print, one of a series of ten views of "tea house" districts, he has depicted two women and a child strolling along the shore by the sea wall at Takanawa. Kiyonaga carefully delineates their class and age: the woman at left is the eldest and clearly in charge; that she ties her obi in front identifies her as a prostitute. Her younger companion must be in the same profession, judging from the way she allows her kimono to fall wide open. The child may be a daughter of the first woman, or a young apprentice. Yet for all of his straightforward rendering of these women as lower-class, there is no hint of disdain or tawdry seaminess in Kiyonaga’s image.
- This is an especially well-preserved print, where even the indigo blue is still visible. The colors used in Japanese prints throughout the eighteenth century were made from plants, and very "fugitive"—that is, they quickly fade when exposed to light. In the great majority of prints, what had once been a rich palette of purples, pinks, and blues has faded to pale browns and grays.
- Secondary Keywords
- transfer method
- bodies of water
- bodies of water and components of bodies of water
- bodies of water by size
- buildings and the land
- descriptors
- image-making processes and techniques
- landscapes (environments)
- marine bodies
- natural landscapes
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by gender
- prints
- prints by process
- prints by process or technique
- processes and techniques
- processes and techniques by specific type
- relief prints
- settlements and landscapes
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- writing (processes)
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 955 x 1307
- File Size
- 150 KB
- Record
- 1960/1.143
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1960-sl-1.143/1960_1.143.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1960-SL-1.143:1960_1.143.JPG
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- Full citation
-
"Views of Ten Tea Houses: Takanawa; Torii Kiyonaga." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1960-sl-1.143/1960_1.143.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 04, 2024.