Husband and Wife Caught in an Evening Shower (Fûfu no Yûdachi), from the series

Medium:: Woodblock print
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago
Image courtesy of: Art Institute of Chicago

Description

This print depicting a husband and wife surprised by a sudden evening rainstorm belongs to a category of domestic genre scene that Utamaro developed alongside his more celebrated single-figure bijin-ga portraits. The yûdachi — sudden summer shower — was a conventional motif in ukiyo-e, used to introduce dramatic movement and narrative into otherwise static compositions. The couple's shared predicament creates an opportunity for Utamaro to portray an interaction between a man and woman within a domestic or semi-public setting, a compositional type less common in his output than single-figure works. Wind-blown garments, improvised shelter, and the diagonal energy of falling rain would have allowed for dynamic treatment of textiles that showcases the printer's skill in rendering pattern under distortion.

More Prints by Kitagawa Utamaro

A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi")

c. 1794/95

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Woman Holding a Fan (from the series Ten Aspects of the Physiognomy of Women)

c. 1793

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Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano)

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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

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More Night Scenes Prints

Evening in East Africa

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Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

Teradomari no yau

1921

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Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"

1947

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Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"

March 1933

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Frequently Asked Questions

Husband and Wife Caught in an Evening Shower (Fûfu no Yûdachi), from the series was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).

Husband and Wife Caught in an Evening Shower (Fûfu no Yûdachi), from the series depicts night scenes.