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花見
Cherry Blossom Viewing Party
花見
Japanese
Edo period
about 1814–17 (Bunka 11–14)
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Horizontal ôban; 25.5 x 37.6 cm (10 1/16 x 14 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.25531
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
A young gentleman and four ladies from a high-ranking household, wearing white headscarves that indicate they are on a visit to a Shinto shrine, are served tea by a waitress at an outdoor tea stall under a large flowering cherry tree. The young man wears two swords, a privilege of the samurai class. He and the ladies have written appropriate poems on slips of colored paper to tie to the branches as elegant decorations.
Catalogue Raisonné
Kondô, ed., Eizan (JUM exh. cat., 1996), list #344.3 and cat. no. 336
Signed
Eizan hitsu
英山筆
英山筆
Marks
Censor's seal: kiwame
改印：極
改印：極
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: August 3, 1911)
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.