Osen of the Kagiya Giving a Scroll to Ohisa of the Takashima
Artist/Maker
Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿
(Japanese, 1754–1806)
Publisher
Tsuruya Kinsuke 鶴屋金助
Date1794
MediumColor woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsVertical ōban; overall: 15 × 9 7/8 in. (38.1 × 25.1 cm)
Credit LineMary A. Ainsworth Bequest
PortfolioTen Aspects of the Physiognomy of Women (Fujin sogaku juttai)
Object number1950.417
Status
Not on viewKasamori Osen 笠森お仙 was considered one of the “Three Beauties” of the Meiwa 明和 era (1764–72), inspiring plays, poems, dolls, and even commemorative towels. She was perhaps most celebrated as a subject of prints, particularly by Harunobu. In this print she symbolically passes on her secrets to a beauty of the current era, Ohisa, who was like Osen a server at a famous teahouse.
Exhibition History
Visions of Turmoil and Tranquility: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Collection
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 17, 2005 - December 23, 2005 )
A Life in Prints: Mary A. Ainsworth and the Floating World
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 3, 2015 - June 7, 2015 )
Time Well Spent: Art and Temporality
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 26, 2016 - December 23, 2016 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
- Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan (April 13, 2019 - May 25, 2019 )
- Shizuoka City Museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan (June 8, 2019 - July 28, 2019 )
- Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka, Japan (August 10, 2019 - September 29, 2019 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 14, 2020 - December 6, 2020 )
Collections
- Asian
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ca. 1897
