Landscape and Oharame (a woman from Ohara), from an untitled hexaptych depicting a pair of folding screens

Art Historical Context

This delicate color woodblock print by Ryuryukyo Shinsai, created around 1825, captures a serene landscape paired with the figure of an Oharame—a woman from the village of Ohara near Kyoto. Traditionally shown carrying bundles of firewood balanced on her head, the Oharame represents a familiar rural type in Japanese art, evoking the rhythms of daily life outside the bustling cities. The work forms one sheet of an untitled hexaptych designed to suggest a pair of folding screens, inviting viewers to imagine the full composition unfolding across six panels. Printed as a surimono on a small shikishiban sheet measuring just over eight inches square, this piece exemplifies the refined private commissions popular in early nineteenth-century Japan. Surimono often featured luxurious techniques such as embossing and subtle color gradations, distinguishing them from more widely circulated prints. Here, the compact format heightens the intimate, almost jewel-like quality of the scene. Housed in the Arts of Asia department at the Art Institute of Chicago, the print offers a charming glimpse into Edo-period aesthetics, where even a single sheet could evoke the elegance of painted screens and the quiet dignity of rural figures.