Ayasato smoking a pipe

Suzuki Harunobu

circa 1725–1770

Ayasato smoking a pipe, 1770, Edo period (1600–1868)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: color woodcut

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 215 x 147 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 8 7/16 x 5 13/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 266 x 177 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 10 1/2 x 6 15/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in

Credit line: Source unknown

Accession number: 0000.1002

Not on display

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Nature/Natural

Harunobu is associated with the popularization of the color printing process nishiki-e (“brocade pictures”) and is well known for his graceful depictions of petite figures. These woodblock prints come from a single album in his book illustration tour de force, a five-volume set of the beautiful courtesans in Edo’s pleasure district. Calligraphic script names each woman and emblems on her sleeves identify the house to which she belonged. Many courtesans cultivated skills of great refinement, and each page of this series depicts a seated woman engaged in a solitary pastime, such as writing a letter, playing a musical instrument, or appreciating flowers. The 17-syllable poems accompanying these figures allude to snow, suggesting that these prints all belong to the 5th album that is dedicated to winter. The four other albums in the set similarly concentrate on seasonal themes (vol. 1, spring; vol. 2-3, summer; vol. 4, autumn), playing on the traditional Asian theme of equating the ephemeral beauty of women with the transitory seasons of the natural world.

Exhibition Label: "Nature/Natural," Feb-2011, Kris Ercums Harunobu is associated with the popularization of the color printing process nishiki-e (“brocade pictures”) and is well known for his graceful depictions of petite figures. These woodblock prints come from a single album in his book illustration tour de force, a five-volume set of the beautiful courtesans in Edo’s pleasure district. Calligraphic script names each woman and emblems on her sleeves identify the house to which she belonged. Many courtesans cultivated skills of great refinement, and each page of this series depicts a seated woman engaged in a solitary pastime, such as writing a letter, playing a musical instrument, or appreciating flowers. The 17-syllable poems accompanying these figures allude to snow, suggesting that these prints all belong to the 5th album that is dedicated to winter. The four other albums in the set similarly concentrate on seasonal themes (vol. 1, spring; vol. 2-3, summer; vol. 4, autumn), playing on the traditional Asian theme of equating the ephemeral beauty of women with the transitory seasons of the natural world.