Sunday

This print titled "Sunday" is catalogued in the Victoria and Albert Museum (item O1800702) under the name of Kitao Masayoshi, the late Edo ukiyo-e artist who also worked under the name Keisai. Masayoshi (1764-1824) was a leading figure of the Kitao school of ukiyo-e, the lineage founded by his teacher Kitao Shigemasa, and is best known for the printed sketchbooks and abbreviated drawing manuals he produced after being appointed official painter to the daimyo of Tsuyama. The Kitao school emphasized clarity of contour, restrained palette, and an interest in instructive picture-making that extended ukiyo-e beyond single-sheet prints into albums (gafu) and design references for craftsmen. For technical specifics, dimensions, medium, and provenance of this particular work, the V&A's online record remains the authoritative source. Within Masayoshi's broader oeuvre, even small printed designs participate in the late Edo culture of widely circulated images: a moment in Japanese print history when artists trained in ukiyo-e workshops were also designing for book publishers, regional patrons, and amateur students of painting. Visitors interested in placing this print in context should consult Masayoshi's well-known albums such as Keisai ryaku gashiki and Keisai gafu, which document the abbreviated style he developed for the Kitao school. The Victoria and Albert Museum's holding ensures the work is preserved within a major institutional collection alongside other examples of late Edo ukiyo-e, where it can be studied as part of the Kitao tradition that influenced printmakers and illustrators throughout the nineteenth century.