Jewel River at Ide (Ide no Tamagawa)
Original title: Jewel River at Ide (Ide no Tamagawa)
kurzbeschreibung
Where many prints of the period isolate a single beauty against an empty ground, Suzuki Harunobu here gathers three women together within a river landscape. This colour woodblock print of about 1768 takes up the classic theme of the Six Jewel Rivers (Mu Tamagawa) and leads the figures in splendid kimonos along the water's edge.
Description
Three women walk in a line along the bank, the middle one stepping slightly forward. Their kimonos carry rich patterns, and combs and pins adorn their hair. Their expressions are serious and thoughtful. The setting stays spare: a landscape with river and flowers, and at the upper right a cartouche with Chinese characters. Brown, grey and white tones predominate, and the light falls evenly, without shadows.
Context
Harunobu, a central figure of late Edo-period colour woodblock printing, made this sheet in the orbit of his Six Tamagawa series. That sequence links famous rivers of Japan with poetic allusions. The print reveals the influence of the classical Genji theme and of bijin-ga, images of women that join everyday life with literary reference and stand as a hallmark of Harunobu's art.
Impact
The layout feels calm and balanced; the figures move with an almost ceremonial slowness. Muted colours and even light create a quiet, poetic mood. The elaborately patterned garments add a decorative accent without undercutting the seriousness of the scene.
Technique
Executed as a woodblock print in ink and colour on paper, the sheet follows the chūban format and measures about 27.3 × 18.9 cm. Several plates printed one over another produced the colouring, and Harunobu was prized for his delicate tones.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)