Pleasure Boats at a Landing

An oban triptych at the Art Institute of Chicago, this color woodblock print depicts pleasure boats at a riverside landing in Edo, almost certainly a scene along the Sumida or one of the Yoshiwara-bound waterways. River boating was a fashionable summer leisure activity in Edo, with parties hiring yakatabune (roofed pleasure boats) for moon viewing, fireworks, or simply to escape the city's heat. The triptych format, with its three sheets joining into a panoramic horizontal composition, was the Tenmei-era vehicle of choice for such fashionable gatherings, and Shuncho's mastery of the form places him directly alongside Torii Kiyonaga in the development of this genre. The work demonstrates the elements that have led to repeated misattribution between the two artists: the tall, statuesque figures, the calm rhythm of figural intervals, the careful coordination of architectural setting and human movement, and the panoramic horizontal flow that the triptych makes possible.