奥村利信画 恋愛御籤売り|A Young Man as a Seller of Love Prophecies
ca. 1730s
Medium
Woodblock print (hand colored); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
13 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (33.7 x 16.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Rogers Fund, 1949
Accession Number
JP3080
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling streets of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), woodblock prints like *A Young Man as a Seller Love Prophecies* captured the vibrant "floating world" of urban life. Created around the 1730s by Okumura Toshinobu, a ukiyo-e artist for his innovative color techniques and narrow *hosoban* formats, this hand-colored print measures a compact 13¼ × 6½ inches. Toshin's work bridged early monochromatic prints and the full-color extravaganzas that would define later masters like Hiroshige and Hokusai. The image depicts a stylish young man hawking *koiomikuji*—love fortune slips popular among romantics in Edo's pleasure districts. These prophecies tapped into the era's fascination with fleeting pleasures, matchmaking, and superstition, reflecting Japan's thriving merchant culture amid strict samurai rule. Hand-applied colors on mulberry paper bring a lively glow to the figure's kimono and expressive pose, showcasing the meticulous *surimono* and *benizuri-e* influences Toshinobu helped popularize. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art Department, this print offers a window into everyday Edo whimsy, reminding us how art immortalized the human heart's eternal quest for love.
About the Artist
Okumura Toshinobu · 1690–1770
active ca. 1717–1750