Tenman Shrine Bell
1860s
Medium
Color woodblock print; surimono
Dimensions
11.6 × 36.7 cm (4 5/8 × 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
43113
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia collection, *man Shrine Bell* is delicate color woodblock print Nakagawa Rogetsu, in the 1860s during Japan's late Edo period. Measuring just 11.6 × 36.7 cm, this intimate horizontal format captures the iconic bell of Tenman Shrine—likely a nod to the revered Tenmangu shrines dedicated to the scholar-god Sugawara no Michizane. Rogetsu, a skilled ukiyo-e artist, renders the bell with precise lines and vibrant hues, evoking the shrine's spiritual aura amid a time of social upheaval before the Meiji Restoration. As a *surimono*, this print e...