Untitled

Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣

ca. 1675–80 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper (sumi-e (ink print) · Asian Art

This print and its text present a wittily updated version of the two brine gatherers' tragic love for Yukihira, who was in exile at Suma. At the right he strolls arm in arm with the sisters Matsukaze and Murasame. Despite their droll aristocratic attire, the trio's deportment is that of pleasure-seeking youth in the bustling entertainment quarters of Edo. At the left the two women in contemporary garb who dip buckets are identified as seaweed gatherers ("shiokumi"), the name of a popular Kabuki dance that represented the immortal legend at the time. This print reflects Moronobu's origins as an illustrator of popular books in its humor as well as its compostion.

Artist

Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣

Date

ca. 1675–80

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper (sumi-e (ink print)

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911