Skip to Main Content

Pleasure Boat on the Sumida River

隅田川舟遊び図

1800s

Teisai Hokuba 蹄斎 北馬

(Japanese, 1771–1844)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Overall: 153.3 x 76.2 cm (60 3/8 x 30 in.); Painting only: 40 x 55.3 cm (15 3/4 x 21 3/4 in.)
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.262
Location: not on view
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Description

After a major fire in Edo (now Tokyo), the Yoshiwara licensed brothel district was relocated to an area accessed via boat along the Sumida River, giving rise to many compositions depicting travel there. Here, attendants with checkered robes serve refreshment to a client. A figure at the fore of the boat tends to the kitchen. A courtesan at the aft, or rear, surveys the river scene. Acquaintances converse in modest commuter boats, and fishers put in to a tiny island. The boat is near the entrance to the San’ya Canal, where pleasure-seekers would disembark.
Pleasure Boat on the Sumida River

Pleasure Boat on the Sumida River

1800s

Teisai Hokuba

(Japanese, 1771–1844)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.