Woman Holding an Uchiwa
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
A woman holds a round uchiwa fan — the rigid, unmounted summer fan associated with casual cooling and informal leisure. Unlike the folding fan (sensu), the uchiwa was a purely functional object, less susceptible to decorative elaboration, and its presence in this composition grounds the scene in everyday summer experience. The woman's relationship to the fan — how she holds it, whether she fans herself or pauses — shapes the emotional register of the image.
More Prints by Kitagawa Utamaro
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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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
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More Bijin-ga Prints
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Woman Holding an Uchiwa was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).
Woman Holding an Uchiwa depicts bijin-ga and fans.