Minneapolis Institute of Art

Summer Party on the Bank of the Kamo River

Utagawa Toyohiro

Date

around 1800

Medium

Hanging scroll (nikuhitsu), ink and color on silk

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

During the summer months, restaurants along the west bank of the Kamo River in Kyoto put platforms over the river so guests can enjoy their evening meals outdoors. This spectacle became a subject for artists of the ukiyo-e and Shijō schools as a representation of the summer season. Here, the smoking tray in front of the young man provides the name of the restaurant, Shijōya. Two women are leaving the scene on the left while he is dining with a young woman sitting opposite of him. They are entertained by two musicians with shamisen (three-stringed instrument) and three young girls wearing bright red aprons are serving them. This painting was chosen as model for a woodblock-printed triptych published in 1801 that represents the Sixth Month and is part of a series depicting the twelve months through designs by Toyohiro and his fellow ukiyo-e artist Toyokuni. Japan, Asia

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