Cherry Blossom Banquet (Ôka no utage)
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image courtesy of
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Cherry Blossom Banquet (Oka no utage) depicts the seasonal practice of hanami — flower viewing — as a social event among women, likely courtesans or townswomen gathered beneath blossoming cherry trees. Hanami compositions required Utamaro to balance figural groupings with landscape elements, a departure from the compressed pictorial space of his okubi-e work. The cherry blossoms are typically rendered in pale pink with bokashi gradation, set against a sky moving from white to pale blue. The women's robes, rendered in multiple woodblock passes, contrast vivid pattern against the delicate palette of the blossoms. The print participates in a long tradition of meisho-e and seasonal genre imagery, here filtered through Utamaro's focus on the behavior and dress of contemporary Edo women.
More Prints by Kitagawa Utamaro
Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano)
Woodblock print
Hour of the Tiger (Tora no koku = 4 AM) from the series Twelve Hours in Yoshiwara (Seirô jûni toki tsuzuki), Late Edo period, circa 1794
Woodblock print
Ikebana arrangement of Peony and Willow in Dragon Pot
1781–1806
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
The Greatest Beauties of Our Time (Toji zensei bijin zoroe): Somenosuke of the Matsubaya with Attendants Wakagi and Wakaba
Woodblock print
More Cherry Blossoms Prints
Kumoi Cherry Trees (Kumoi sakura)
Kumoi sakura
1926
Color woodblock print
Hirosaki Castle, from the series "Eight Views of Cherry Blossoms"
1935
Color woodblock print
Chion-in Temple Gate (Romon), from the series Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms (Sakura hachidai)
Romon
1935
Color woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Maruyama Park
円山公園桜
Woodblock print
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cherry Blossom Banquet (Ôka no utage) was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).
Cherry Blossom Banquet (Ôka no utage) depicts cherry blossoms.