Cleveland Museum of Art

A Beauty

Date

c. 1810

Medium

hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Many ukiyo-e paintings and prints focus on bijin (美人), or “beautiful people.” Female courtesans and entertainers were the main draw in the pleasure district of Edo (now Tokyo), but young men were also available. The poem here reads as follows: "The full blooming cherry / is not the only flower worth mentioning. / The color of the young plum tree / blooms as well." The full blooming cherry is a metaphor for mature women, and the plum for young men. The handsome youth in the painting is accompanied by a boy carrying a plum branch.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.