Returning Sails at Yabase (Yabase kihan), from the series "Fashionable Eight Views of Omi (Furyu Omi hakkei)"

Art Historical Context

Kikukawa Eizan’s *Returning Sails at Y (Yabase kihan)*, created around 1814–17, is a captivating color woodblock print from the *Fashionable Eight Views Omi (Furyu Omi hakkei)*. This oban-sized work (37.8 × 25.8 cm) reimagines the classic Eight Views of Omi—iconic landscapes around Lake Biwa in Japan’s Omi Province—through a stylish, contemporary lens popular in Edo-period ukiyo-e art. Eizan, a master of the late 18th- to early 19th-century ukiyo-e tradition, infuses the scene with elegant figures and poetic atmosphere, likely capturing boats gliding homeward at dusk against a serene waterscape. As a color woodblock print, the artwork showcases the ingenuity of Japanese printmaking: intricate carvings on wooden blocks allowed for vibrant, multi-layered colors and precise details, from the subtle gradations of the evening sky to the flowing robes of figures. Oban format made it accessible for urban collectors, reflecting ukiyo-e’s role in democratizing art during the prosperous Edo era. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Arts of Asia department, this print highlights Omi’s enduring cultural allure and Eizan’s blend of nature’s beauty with fashionable flair, offering visitors a window into Japan’s floating world of art and leisure.

About the Artist

Kikukawa Eizan · 1787–1867

Kikukawa Eizan (1787–1867), born Toshinobu Ōmiya in Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing during Japan's late Edo period. He began his training under his father, Eiji Kikugawa, a minor painter and fan maker in the Kanō school tradition, before advancing to study with Suzuki Nanrei of the Shijō school and the ukiyo-e artist Totoya Hokkei, a pupil of Katsushik...