Akutagawa
- Date:
- c. 1801/06
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; kokonotsugiri-ban, surimono
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Akutagawa is one of the place-name poems from classical Japanese literature — the site where the Heian-era courtier Ariwara no Narihira famously abducted his beloved in the tenth-century Tales of Ise. Produced as a surimono around 1801–06 in the distinctive kokonotsugiri-ban format, the composition likely evokes that romantic legend through landscape imagery, using the river setting as a literary allusion.
More Prints by Katsushika Hokusai
Hokusai manga (Hokusai Sketchbooks)
19th century
Woodblock-printed book; ink and light color on paper
Fukuroi
1804
Japanese woodblock print
The Fishermen of Katase Hauling in Their Nets: The Purple Shell (Murasakigai)
1821
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban
Burdock Root (Kurama gobo), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Akutagawa was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in c. 1801/06.
Akutagawa depicts landscapes, figures, and travel scenes.