Viewing Cherry Blossoms at Goten Hill
c. 1787
Medium
Woodblock print; right sheet of oban triptych, keyblock proof impression (color sheet: 1925.3091, left sheet: 1939.2195)
Dimensions
38.4 × 26.7 cm (15 1/8 × 10 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
24072
Art Historical Context
"Viewing Cherry Blossoms Goten Hill" is captivating woodblock print by Chôbunsai Eishi, a master of ukiyo-e from Japan's Edo period, created around 1787. This right sheet of an oban triptych elegant figures savoring hanami—the cherished tradition of cherry blossom viewing—at Goten Hill, evoking the fleeting beauty of spring in urban Edo (modern Tokyo). E, renowned for his bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women), infuses the scene with graceful poise and refined details, highlighting the era's fascination with leisure and nature. As a keyblock proof impression, this print reveals the intricate ...
About the Artist
Chôbunsai Eishi · 1756–1829
Chôbunsai Eishi, born Hosoda Tokitomi in 1756 to a prosperous samurai family of the Fujiwara clan in Edo, inherited a substantial stipend of 500 koku of rice annually. His grandfather had served as the shogunate's Treasury Minister, and upon his father Hosoda Tokiyuki's death in 1772, Eishi became family head while holding a position in Shogun Tokugawa Ieharu's palace from 1781. Unusually for a uk...