Untitled

Kitagawa Utamaro

1790s · Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Boats carrying beautiful women and fishermen nearly collide on the Sumida River near Ryōgoku Bridge, a famous summer locale. The three fishermen wearing straw skirts in the foreground are a parody of the three protagonists of the foundation story of the Asakusa temple. After two brothers caught a sculpture of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Kannon) in their net, they and the village leader who built the first temple to house the statue were worshipped as manifestations of the deity in the three shrines of Asakusa, and an annual festival in their honor has continued to the present day.

Artist

Kitagawa Utamaro

Date

1790s

Medium

Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929