Cleveland Museum of Art

Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River

Kitagawa Utamaro

Date

c. 1800

Medium

One of a triptych of color woodblock prints

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Pleasure-boating in the evening on the Sumida River to escape the summer’s heat was about as popular as viewing cherry blossoms in spring for Edo townspeople. The river also led the way to the Yoshiwara, the licensed brothel district. A boating party with courtesans and gentlemen jostles up next to a fishing boat. Utamaro enjoyed portraying a scene through the design of a fishing or mosquito net. The different colors of the net suggest these impressions may be from two different series.

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