Kōrin Picture Album (Kōrin gafu) 光琳画譜
after 1826 (reprinted posthumously)
Medium
Woodblock printed book in two volumes (orihon, accordion-style); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
each: 10 5/8 × 7 11/16 in. (27 × 19.5 cm)
Classification
Illustrated Books
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013
Accession Number
2013.697a, b
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant woodblock-printed album, titled *Kōrin Picture Album* (*Kōrin gafu*), was created by the artist Nakamura Hōchū and first issued in the early nineteenth century, with this edition reprinted after 1826. Produced during Japan’s Edo period, the two-volume set takes the form of an *orihon*, or accordion-fold book, allowing pages to unfold like a continuous scroll. Its lively ink-and-color illustrations feature a delightful array of subjects—men and women, boats, cranes, deer, flowers, musicians, and games—capturing the playful spirit of everyday life and nature. Hōchū worked in the Ri...