Eight Views of Famous Places: Autumn Moon at the Tama River

Maker(s)
Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni II (1777-1835)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, ca. 1835
Medium
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 25 x 37.6 cm (9 13/16 x 14 13/16 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
The Anne van Biema Collection
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S2004.3.123
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Print
Type

Woodblock print

Keywords
Anne van Biema collection, autumn, Edo period (1615 - 1868), fishing, Japan, landscape, moon, Mount Fuji, river, ukiyo-e
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

A full moon beside Mount Fuji lights this scene of nocturnal fishing on a river, one of a series of Eight Views of Famous Places (Meisho hakkei). The inscription identifies the subject: "Picture of dipping for ayu [sweetfish] in the Tama River." The scene along the shore, in which women pound cloth beside a farmhouse is conventionally associated with the Tetsukuri Tamagawa, located on Musashino, the broad plain west of Edo. The exceptional quality of artistic conception and printing is evident in this fresh, early impression from Toyokuni's only landscape series. The series was completed shortly before the artist's death during a peak of interest in landscape subjects that had been stimulated by the achievements of Hokusai and Hiroshige.

Published References
  • Ann Yonemura, et al. Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection. Seattle and Washington. cat. 120, pp. 296-297.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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