Yoshiwara Picture Book of New Year’s Festivities (Seirō ehon nenjū gyōji) : [volume 1]

Kitagawa, Utamaro, 1753?-1806 · 1804 · Edo : Kazusaya Chūsuke 上総屋忠助 · 5 pictures

A Japanese woodblock picture book printed in Edo in 1804 by the publisher Kazusaya Chūsuke and designed by Kitagawa Utamaro, showing the pleasure quarter Yoshiwara's annual calendar of events for a townsfolk audience. The double-page spreads show crowds of women in layered patterned kimono, attendants and men in plain striped robes, lanterns, banners and sliding screens, drawn in flat colour with fine black outlines. A designer could take from them the dense patterned textiles, the crowded compositions that read as one continuous scene across two pages, and the restrained palette of blues, reds and pale grey.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library