Arrival of the Korean Embassy in Edo

Art Historical Context

Welcome to the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia gallery, where you'll find *Arrival of the Korean Embassy in* by Torii Kiyon I, a captivating woodblock print from around 1709. This oban sumizuri-e— a large-format, single-color (black ink on white paper) print—is one sheet from an ambitious 12-sheet composition, likely forming a panoramic scene (see related sheets 1925.2334a-f). Kiyonobu I, a master of the Torii school early ukiyo-e, was renowned for vibrant actor prints and beauty portraits, but here he captures a moment of grandeur with precise lines and dynamic composition. The artwork depicts the arrival of a Joseon Korean diplomatic embassy in Edo (modern Tokyo), part of regular tribute missions to the Tokugawa shogun during Japan's Edo period (1603–1868). These processions, traveling from Nagasaki overland, symbolized diplomatic ties amid sakoku isolation policy, blending Korean formality with Japanese curiosity. Such prints fueled public fascination with exotic visitors, their elaborate robes, and rituals. Artistically, the sumizuri-e technique highlights Kiyonobu's skill in shading and texture using just ink washes, a cost-effective precursor to multicolored nishiki-e prints. Measuring 28 × 36.5 cm, it exemplifies early 18th-century ukiyo-e's shift toward documenting real-world spectacles, bridging theater-inspired art with historical events. A window into cross-cultural exchange!

About the Artist

Torii Kiyonobu I · 1664–1729

Torii Kiyonobu I (1664–1729), born Shōbei in Osaka, was the second son of Torii Kiyomoto, a prominent kabuki actor specializing in onnagata roles and a painter of theater signboards. He studied painting under his father as well as Yoshida Hanbei and Hishikawa Moronobu, the pioneering ukiyo-e master whose figure styles profoundly shaped his early work. In 1687, at age twenty-four, Kiyonobu accompan...