The depiction of beautiful women is unquestionably a favored theme in the field of ukiyo-e. Various kinds of city girls, courtesans, historical figures, and the fictional characters - women of all walks - have captured the imagination of the ukiyo-e artist. This exhibition focuses on this "Beauty of the Female Form" motif given such thorough expression in woodblock prints.
As a medium that spans centuries, ukiyo-e has catered to the creative talents of a long lineage of artists. From the Hishikawa and Kaigetsudo schools of ukiyo-e’s initial stages, to Suzuki Harunobu’s skilled utilization of the nishiki-e (multi-colored prints); from the representative ukiyo-e artists of the Tenmei (1781-1789) and Kansei (1789-1801) eras, Torii Kiyonaga and Kitagawa Utamaro, to Keisai Eisen, who drew the decadent beauties of the latter Edo period; or from Yoshu Chikanobu and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, who captured the woman of the new Meiji era (1868-1912), to the Taisho era’s (1912-1926) new-style woodblock printer, Hashiguchi Goyo, we humbly introduce this collection, in which the viewer, too, can follow the significant era by era transition of the idealized Japanese woman depicted in ukiyo-e prints.
1 minute walk from exit 5 at Meijijingu-mae Station on the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin lines, 3 minute walk from the Omotesando exit of Harajuku Station on the JR Yamanote line.
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