“Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki): Shōshō, from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)
Original title: “‘Little Purple Gromwell’ (Wakamurasaki): Shōshō,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)
kurzbeschreibung
A woman in kimono sits on a cushion, one hand pressed to her breast. Utagawa Kuniyoshi designed this colour woodblock print around 1845–61. In ōban format, the sheet pairs a scene from the Genji narrative with motifs from the ukiyo-e world.
Description
In the foreground a female figure kneels on a cushion; her kimono is patterned in red and black, her black hair tied in a knot. One hand rests on her chest, a gesture that can read as thoughtful or pained. Stylised white birds sweep through the air. At upper left appears a flower-decorated scroll painting, beside it a red banner with Chinese characters. The neutral background draws the eye to the figure and the birds.
Context
The series Genji-gumo ukiyo-e-awase links scenes from The Tale of Genji with contemporary ukiyo-e motifs. Kuniyoshi made it in the late Edo period, when illustrated editions were reviving interest in Genji. Naming the figure Shōshō points to a literary source, which the print hints at through visual symbols such as the scroll image.
Impact
Calm arrangement and clear colours create a peaceful, almost intimate mood. Decorative elements and the figure's quiet gesture balance each other: narrative and ornament enter into a tense relationship.
Technique
The sheet is a woodblock print in the nishiki-e process, in which several colour blocks produce individual areas of colour. Precise outlines and vivid colours are typical of ukiyo-e technique. The ōban format (about 35.6 × 24.1 cm) was a standard size for single-sheet prints of the period.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)