Praying for Rain (Amagoi), from the series Seven Fashionable Scenes from the Life of Komachi (Furyu nana Komachi)
ca. 1795
The unusual color of this print is a result of the benigirai color scheme, in which red is omitted for shades of purple, green, and yellow. Though this print appears to be monochrome, a closer look reveals a trace of pigment. The son of a high-placed government official and a painter by training, Eishi brought a stately sensibility to his work, which was heightened by his training in the conservative Kano school of painting.
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Framed: 15 1/8 x 10 in. (38.4 x 25.4 cm)
Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2014.32.1
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, 2014
Photo: Susan Cole