Somekawa
- Date:
- 1864, 7th lunar month
- Medium:
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 35.9 × 24 cm
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
A bijin print from 1864 depicting a woman named Somekawa in the nishiki-e format, produced in the seventh lunar month alongside companion prints featuring the characters Oroku, Osome, Takaragi, Wakato, and others. The name Somekawa suggests a connection to the dyeing quarter of Edo — somemono being cloth dyeing — and the woman's dress would likely reflect the refined aesthetic of that artisan milieu. The 1864 series of bijin portraits shows Kyosai's command of the conventional beautiful-women genre at an early stage in his career.
More Prints by Kawanabe Kyosai
Tenpôzan in Osaka: Viewing Children's Sumo (Naniwa Tenpôzan kodomo sumô shôran), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô
1863
Woodblock print
Kyosai, Royal Academy, London, FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING
2022
Original Museum Lithographic Exhibition Poster
from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
Old Picture of the Rashômon Gate (Rashômon no ko zu), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho tsuzuki
Woodblock print
More Figures Prints
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Somekawa was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎) in 1864, 7th lunar month.
Somekawa depicts figures, bijin-ga, and portraits.
Somekawa measures 35.9 × 24 cm (Oban format).