
Tonegawa koiryo 利根川鯉漁 / Bijin meisho awase 美人名所合
by Ogata Gekko
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- British Museum
- Image courtesy of
- British Museum
Description
This print by Ogata Gekko (1859–1920) belongs to a bijin meisho awase format — compositions pairing a fashionably dressed woman with a named famous place — here the Tonegawa River in the Kantō region, one of Japan's major waterways and historically important for fishing and transport. The subject depicted is carp fishing (koiryo), a recognized seasonal and regional activity along the Tonegawa. Gekko worked across bijin-ga, musha-e, and kacho-e genres, frequently combining figure and landscape in a single composition during the Meiji period. The bijin likely appears in the foreground dressed in coordinated seasonal kimono, while fishermen or nets on the river establish the meisho element. Gekko's line work shows slightly more Western-influenced draftsmanship than classical ukiyo-e predecessors, and his prints were issued in ōban format by multiple Meiji publishers.
More Prints by Ogata Gekko

MORNING GLORIES AT IRIYA, TOKYO
Woodblock print

Nippon-damashii, Kyokaku 日本魂 侠客 / Gekko zuihitsu 月耕随筆
Woodblock print

Onodera Koemon Hidetomi 小野寺幸右衛門秀富 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print

Beauties Harvesting Bracken, from the series Gekkō’s Miscellaney
c. 1886–1899
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
More Animals Prints

Snake Charmers (Hebizukai)
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban

Hoshifuri Pine at Zen'yoji Temple in Edogawa (Edogawa-ku Zen'yoji Hoshifuri matsu), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"
1935
Color woodblock print; oban

Drawing for Rabbit and Boy
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper

Rabbit and Boy
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Frequently Asked Questions
Tonegawa koiryo 利根川鯉漁 / Bijin meisho awase 美人名所合 was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).
Tonegawa koiryo 利根川鯉漁 / Bijin meisho awase 美人名所合 depicts animals.