House cleaning in preparation for the New Year

House Cleaning in Preparation for the New Year, dated 1796 and held by the Art Institute of Chicago, depicts the susuharai ritual of o-soji, the deep cleaning of homes and shops that marked the run-up to the Japanese New Year. Kitagawa Utamaro mobilizes a group of women across what is likely a triptych or extended composition, with brooms, bamboo dusters, basins, and bundles of laundry distributed across the design as they sweep ceilings, wipe surfaces, and rearrange interiors. The subject reflects the seasonal logic that underpinned much of Edo culture and gave ukiyo-e a calendar of recurring images. Within his Edo bijin-ga practice, prints like this one extended his typological gaze beyond rest and leisure into the rhythms of household labor, suggesting that women were as visually compelling at work as at play. Utamaro's line remains supple, his palette restrained, and the choreography of bodies engaged in collective tasks gives the composition a documentary edge unusual for ukiyo-e bijin-ga, while still showcasing the patterned robes and dynamic postures for which his designs were prized.