Portraits of Twenty-eight Metal Artists

ca. 1615–1868

Not on view

In this print, Kitao Shigemasa (北尾重政, 1739–1820), an artist of the ukiyo-e genre (known for woodblock prints and paintings), portrays twenty-eight of the most influential sword-fitting makers of the Edo period (1615–1868). Sitting at the top of this imaginary gathering is Yokoya Somin (横谷宗珉, 1670–1733), who is celebrated for his role as initiator of a movement that ushered in a renaissance of the craft. The way Somin is highlighted in terms of position, size, and frontal view, with the other artists arranged in a circle, can be interpreted as an allusion to spiritual mandalas that feature buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Exhibition History

Title: Portraits of Twenty-eight Metal Artists
Artist: Kitao Shigemasa (Japanese, 1739–1820)
Date: ca. 1615–1868
Culture: Japanese
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Image: 20 1/8 × 14 1/4 in. (51.1 × 36.2 cm)
Classification: Works on Paper-Prints
Object Number: ARMS.ARMS.2021.1
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

By Kitao Shigemasa

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A Boy Singer, Kitao Shigemasa Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — A Boy Singer
Kitao Shigemasa

Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese — Armor (*Gusoku*)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries

Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma), Chōbunsai Eishi Japanese, Left sheet of a triptych of woodblocks; ink and color on paper, Japan — Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)
Chōbunsai Eishi
ca. 1791–92

The Hand Lantern, Kitao Shigemasa Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — The Hand Lantern
Kitao Shigemasa
ca. 1790

Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese — Helmet (*Zukinnari Kabuto*)
Japanese
16th century

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