Foreigners Enjoying Themselves in the Gankirō
When the port of Yokohama, about thirty miles southwest of Edo, opened to Westerners in 1859, near the end of the Edo period, ukiyo-e artists started illustrating the foreigners in Yokohama and creating imaginary scenes of foreign countries, known as Yokohama-e (Yokohama pictures).
As one of the major early printmakers of Yokohama-e, Yoshikazu, a pupil of Kuniyoshi, produced many views of Yokohama. This scene shows the largest pleasure quarter for foreigners, Gankirō, located in the Miyozaki pleasure quarters, which were similar to those in Yoshiwara, in Edo. Foreigners, courtesans, and servants are arranged in a complex interior space with confusing multiple perspectives. In the foreground several foreigners are shown eating, drinking, and singing; one man has stripped to his underwear to dance.
As one of the major early printmakers of Yokohama-e, Yoshikazu, a pupil of Kuniyoshi, produced many views of Yokohama. This scene shows the largest pleasure quarter for foreigners, Gankirō, located in the Miyozaki pleasure quarters, which were similar to those in Yoshiwara, in Edo. Foreigners, courtesans, and servants are arranged in a complex interior space with confusing multiple perspectives. In the foreground several foreigners are shown eating, drinking, and singing; one man has stripped to his underwear to dance.
Artwork Details
- Title: Foreigners Enjoying Themselves in the Gankirō
- Artist: Utagawa Yoshikazu (Japanese, active ca. 1850–70)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: ca. 1861
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 14 1/2 in. × 30 in. (36.8 × 76.2 cm)
Mat: 20 3/4 in. × 37 in. (52.7 × 94 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959
- Object Number: JP3264
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Utagawa Yoshikazu
1861
Utagawa Yoshikazu
dated 1861
Utagawa Yoshikazu
19th century
Utagawa Yoshikazu
19th century
Utagawa Yoshikazu
1861 (10th month)
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