Evening Rain on the Nihon Embankment (Nihon zutsumi no yau), from the series Eight Fashionable Views of Edo (Furyu Edo hakkei)

1766

Japanese, 1724 - 1770

Visitors to the Yoshiwara, Edo's government-licensed pleasure quarters, arrived there by traveling the Nihon Embankment. In Harunobu's print, rain may have scared away most of the scurrying throng, but several figures still brave the elements for an evening of pleasure. In the warmly lit interior, a child attendant points outside excitedly, perhaps alerting the courtesan that her client is approaching.

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Framed: 10 5/8 x 7 1/4 in.

Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

2013.31.2

Provenance: [Peter Gilder, Arts and Designs of Japan, San Francisco, California]; purchased from gallery by Allan Kollar, Seattle, Washington, 1990; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2013

Photo: Susan Cole

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, SAM at 75: Building a Collection for Seattle, May 5 - Sept. 9, 2007.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Fleeting Beauty: Japanese Woodblock Prints, Apr. 1 - July 4, 2010. Text by Catherine Roche. Cat. no. 10, reproduced p. 33.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Legends, Tales, Poetry: Visual Narrative in Japanese Art, Dec. 22, 2012 - July 21, 2013.

Published ReferencesShirahara, Yukiko. "Ukiyo-e: The Aesthetics of Pleasure." In A Community of Collectors, Seattle, Washington: Seattle Art Museum, 2008; p. 170, reproduced no. 145.

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