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8,730 photos
"Courtesans of the Tamaya House" Utagawa Toyoharu (attributed to) Japan, Edo period, late 1770s or early 1780s Daily ritual in the pleasure quarter This rare six-fold screen can be firmly attributed to Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814) and is one of the most important surviving Ukiyo-e paintings of its period. A group of high-ranking courtesans are seated on the red carpet in the centre, surrounded by their apprentices (shinzô) arranged in pairs with matching kimonos around the walls. The women are in the harimise, the latticed display room of a brothel in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, where they would sit waiting for clients. It appears to be the quiet middle period of the day, and the courtesans are amusing themselves in various ways - smoking, playing the shamisen, dressing a doll. One of the teenage apprentices has dozed off. Among the lacquered accessories depicted in the front, to the right of the smoking set, is a small box decorated with the emblem of a flying crane. According to Keisei Kei, a printed guide to courtesans published by Santô Kyôden in 1788, this was a crest used by Komurasaki, a high-ranking courtesan in the house run by Tamaya Sansaburô. The name of the house appears, albeit playfully half-hidden, on the entrance curtain towards the centre back. 1441 mm x 3146 mm JA JP ADD687 (1982.7-1.02)
#33011014

"Courtesans of the Tamaya House" Utagawa Toyoharu (attributed to) Japan, Edo...

"Courtesans of the Tamaya House" Utagawa Toyoharu (attributed to) Japan, Edo period, late 1770s or early 1780s Daily ritual in the pleasure quarter This rare six-fold screen can be firmly attributed to Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814) and is one of the most important surviving Ukiyo-e paintings of its period. A group of high-ranking courtesans are seated on the red carpet in the centre, surrounded by their apprentices (shinzô) arranged in pairs with matching kimonos around the walls. The women are in the harimise, the latticed display room of a brothel in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, where they would sit waiting for clients. It appears to be the quiet middle period of the day, and the courtesans are amusing themselves in various ways - smoking, playing the shamisen, dressing a doll. One of the teenage apprentices has dozed off. Among the lacquered accessories depicted in the front, to the right of the smoking set, is a small box decorated with the emblem of a flying crane. According to Keisei Kei, a printed guide to courtesans published by Santô Kyôden in 1788, this was a crest used by Komurasaki, a high-ranking courtesan in the house run by Tamaya Sansaburô. The name of the house appears, albeit playfully half-hidden, on the entrance curtain towards the centre back. 1441 mm x 3146 mm JA JP ADD687 (1982.7-1.02)
#33011015

"Courtesans of the Tamaya House" Utagawa Toyoharu (attributed to) Japan, Edo...

"Rabbits and autumn grasses", Edo period, mid-18th century Twelve rabbits shown in different activities, mainly feeding, but also chasing each other and one climbing amorously onto another's back. This screen was probably one of a pair painted by an artist of the Rimpa school. JA, JP Add88 (1933.9-29.03)
#33011017

"Rabbits and autumn grasses", Edo period, mid-18th century Twelve rabbits shown...

Lovers in an upstairs room, from "Uta makura" - Poem of the Pillow. Edo period, 1788. JA, OA+133.06
#33011018

Lovers in an upstairs room, from "Uta makura" - Poem of the Pillow. Edo period,...

Courtesan Japan, Edo period, about 1710-20 CE The Kaigetsudô group of artists, led by Kaigetsudô Ando, specialized in the early years of the eighteenth century in paintings and large-format prints of single standing figures of high-ranked Edo courtesans. Kaigetsudô Anchi may have been Ando's principal student, since he is the only one of the group to use the 'An' character of his teacher's name. Very few prints by this group survive - for example there are only eight known designs by Anchi, and this is the only known impression of this particular work. The reason for this may be the sheer fragility of prints in general, but it is also possible that the Kaigetsudô artists preferred to concentrate on paintings. The style of Kaigetsudô prints is immediately recognizable: flowing calligraphic lines describe the exquisitely patterned kimonos, contrasting with the simple facial features. 319 mm x 590 mm JA 1910.4-18.175
#33011019

Courtesan Japan, Edo period, about 1710-20 CE The Kaigetsudô group of artists,...

Lacquered vessel, Japanese, early Jômon period, c5005-c4996 BC. Jômon means 'cord pattern' and the term describes the characteristic surface patterns that were made with a twisted cord. The Jômon peoples were predominantly hunters, fishers and gatherers and their pots were mainly used for boiling food and for eating. This bowl which originally had a lid, has a well-defined rim decoration of marks jabbed with a stick, bone, or finger-nail. The main body has cord decoration. The inside has been lacquered, probably in the nineteenth century, and briefly used as a mizusashi (water jar for the Tea Ceremony). JA, OA+20
#33011020

Lacquered vessel, Japanese, early Jômon period, c5005-c4996 BC. Jômon means 'cor...

Spouted vessel from Hokkaidô, Japanese, final Jômon period, c1000 BC. The structure of this vessel is technically advanced for a hand-made object. It is a particularly fine example of cord-patterned decoration, executed in carved zones over low burnished areas. A hole in the base suggests that the vessel may have been spoiled deliberately for ritual funerary use. JA, OA+654
#33011021

Spouted vessel from Hokkaidô, Japanese, final Jômon period, c1000 BC. The struct...

Dôhoko (ritual spear blade), Yayoi period, Japan, c300 BC-300 AD. This bronze spear blade is said to have been excavated at Okamoto-chô, Kasuga City, in modern Fukuoka Prefecture. The blade has no attachment hole at the end, which suggests that it had no practical use but, like dôtaku and mirrors at the time, was made for burial in a ceremony possibly connected with agriculture. Its form is copied from a Chinese original. Iron and bronze were introduced into Japan at about the same time, so there was no recognizable 'Bronze Age' predating the use of iron. Iron was quickly recognized as the stronger of the two metals, more suitable for producing tools and weapons. Bronze was used for ritual objects such as mirrors, daggers and spears such as this one. JA, 1965.2-23.3
#33011022

Dôhoko (ritual spear blade), Yayoi period, Japan, c300 BC-300 AD. This bronze sp...

Sue ware jar, Kofun period, Japan, 6th century. This is an example of a traditional Sue ware tomb jar, with a pierced base like a ceremonial stand and 'bobbles' like small bowls attached to the neck. In addition, models of animals and a boat with four oarsman and a helmsman have been fused to the sides. The form of the rim suggests that the jar originally had a lid. The body is also decorated with some scratched comb marks and there are accidental ash glaze effects. JA, F2227
#33011023

Sue ware jar, Kofun period, Japan, 6th century. This is an example of a traditio...

Haniwa, Kofun period, Japan, 6th century. Her hair is swept up into an elaborate coiffure, and she wears a string of beads round her neck. This tall pottery female figure would have stood with others in a protective circle around the tomb mound of a powerful ruler. The figure is said to have been found near the village of Motomachi close to the port of Konjô in Musashi Province, in present day Tokyo-tô. From the late fourth century the leaders of the Yamato state in the area around Kyoto had established their dominance over other Japanese kingdoms. They are clearly the founders of the Japanese Imperial line. MAXIMUM CURRENT FILE SIZE AVAILABLE ON THIS IMAGE IS: 25MBYTES JA, F2210
#33011024

Haniwa, Kofun period, Japan, 6th century. Her hair is swept up into an elaborate...

Long-necked Sue jar, Japanese, Late Kofun period, 7th century. This ritual tomb jar was shaped on a potter's wheel; the marks of the wheel are visible on the base. It was made in three parts; the join where two bowl-shaped pieces were fused together is visible. The neck was added separately. The jar has a very fine random ash glaze caused by material from the kiln walls fusing on the pot's surface. The lump on the base is probably material from the floor of the kiln that fused accidentally during firing. JA, F2268
#33011025

Long-necked Sue jar, Japanese, Late Kofun period, 7th century. This ritual tomb...

Stûpas known as the Hyakuman Tô, Nara period, Japan, c764. The centring mark and lathe-marks are clearly visible on the base of each stûpa. In an act of Buddhist piety, the Japanese Empress Shôtoku had a million wooden stûpas like this made. They were to contain prayers that gave thanks for a victory over dissidents in the rebellion of Emi-no-Oshikatsu in the year 764. 100,00 of the stûpas were given to each of the ten great monasteries in the Kansai region. Many survive in the Hôryû-ji Temple.The prayer strips, printed with wood and copper plates, are the earliest printed matter surviving from Japan. Recently researchers in Japan have been examining the signatures of the makers, and it seems that only a small number of woodworkers was involved. JA, 1930.4-24.1;JA, 1892.12-12.1;JA, 1909.5-19.4,5
#33011026

Stûpas known as the Hyakuman Tô, Nara period, Japan, c764. The centring mark and...