Art Institute of Chicago

Beauty at the Mimeguri Shrine

Utagawa Toyohiro

Date

Edo period, Bunka era c. 1804/18

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink, colors and gold pigment on silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This fashionable woman is enjoying a cool evening by the Mimeguri Shrine, located on an embankment of the Sumida River, which flows through central Tokyo. Her clothing advertises her sophistication: a chic lightweight black kimono that reveals the colors of her robes underneath, with a complementary obi (sash). Toyohiro was a second-generation artist of the Utagawa School, the most prominent painters of ukiyo-e, or “floating world” pictures. The phrase “floating world” describes a way of life in premodern Japanese cities (17th–19th centuries) that celebrated enjoyment in fleeting pleasures such as art, beauty, and fashion.

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