Cleveland Museum of Art

Splendid View at Futamigaura Bay

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Date

1854

Medium

Triptych of color woodblock prints

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

These three prints form a continuous scene of figures visiting Futamigaura Bay near Ise Grand Shrine, one of Japan’s most sacred places. In the background, the sun rises between the “Wedded Rocks” joined by a twisted rope, called a shimenawa , used to designate a sanctified space. The rocks mark the entrance to Futami Okitama Shrine and are said to be embodiments of Izanagi and Izanami, the gods who, according to myth, created Japan. Futamigaura was a place where pilgrims purified themselves before visiting Ise and often lodged afterwards. The woman at the left has the word Yutaka , one of the artist's seals, on her scarf.

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