Picture Book of Flowers of the Four Seasons (Ehon shiki no hana) : [volume 2]
A Japanese woodblock picture book, volume 2 of Ehon shiki no hana, made by Kitagawa Utamaro in Edo in 1801 for a popular audience of townspeople. The double-page spreads show women and townsfolk in gardens, interiors, verandas and rain-soaked streets, with flowers woven through each scene. A designer could draw on the flat colour fields, the layered screens and fine line work, and the way the seasons are suggested by plants rather than by landscape.
![Picture 1 of 5 from Picture Book of Flowers of the Four Seasons (Ehon shiki no hana) : [volume 2] (1801), leaf 3](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_716-3-1.webp)
![Picture 2 of 5 from Picture Book of Flowers of the Four Seasons (Ehon shiki no hana) : [volume 2] (1801), leaf 4](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_716-4-1.webp)
![Picture 3 of 5 from Picture Book of Flowers of the Four Seasons (Ehon shiki no hana) : [volume 2] (1801), leaf 5](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_716-5-1.webp)
![Picture 4 of 5 from Picture Book of Flowers of the Four Seasons (Ehon shiki no hana) : [volume 2] (1801), leaf 8](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_716-8-1.webp)
![Picture 5 of 5 from Picture Book of Flowers of the Four Seasons (Ehon shiki no hana) : [volume 2] (1801), leaf 10](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_716-10-1.webp)