二葉草七小町　清水小町|Kiyomizu Komachi

Kitagawa Utamaro

1790s · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

In this print a woman plays mekakushi, blindman’s buff, with two children. She observes the pair through a screen equipped with a sliding paper door. It frames her image to create a picture within a picture that resembles the Japanese portraits of beautiful women known as bijin-e. Admired women were sometimes called Komachi, as in the title, after an ancient poet celebrated for both her literary prowess and her physical beauty. The screen also accentuates the separation between the children, absorbed in the excitement of the game itself, and the woman observing them

Artist

Kitagawa Utamaro

Date

1790s

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914