Ito Shinsui
Japanese, 1898-1972
Night at Ikenohata
INV-1416
Ito Shinsui
Japanese, 1898-1972January 1921
Night at Ikenohata
Ito Shinsui Japanese, 1898-1972 →Japanese (culture or style)woodblock printprint
Date
January 1921
Medium
Color woodblock print
Dimensions
40.4 × 25.3 cm (15 15/16 × 10 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Cornelius Crane
This print opens a window onto the artist’s fruitful col-laboration with the publisher Watanabe Shôzaburô. Its creation was sparked when Itô Shinsui happened upon a minstrel outside a teahouse in Ueno and was so struck by the piercing light emanating from the building that he rapidly sketched the nighttime scene. Watanabe not only had prints made from the sketch but also included a note describing their origin and production when he distributed copies to the Edo-e Kanshôkai (a club for print collectors).
The note that accompanied the print reads in part:
What struck Shinsui was the edge of Shinobazu Pond at night, seen through the cherry trees and old willow trees, with the contrast between the candlelight in the windows and the deep blue of the sky. . . . In order to transfer the freshness of the experience as faithfully as possible, I asked Shinsui to freely direct and oversee the work of the carver and printer.
(Translated by Hiroko Isogai)
Also notable
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Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿 Japanese, c.1753-1806
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Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
Mitsuke: Ferries Crossing the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa funawatashi), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
