Matsukaze Murasame

ca. 1675–80

Not on view

This print and its text present a wittily updated version of the two brine gatherers' tragic love for Yukihira, who was in exile at Suma. At the right he strolls arm in arm with the sisters Matsukaze and Murasame. Despite their droll aristocratic attire, the trio's deportment is that of pleasure-seeking youth in the bustling entertainment quarters of Edo. At the left the two women in contemporary garb who dip buckets are identified as seaweed gatherers ("shiokumi"), the name of a popular Kabuki dance that represented the immortal legend at the time. This print reflects Moronobu's origins as an illustrator of popular books in its humor as well as its compostion.

Artwork Details

Title: Matsukaze Murasame
Artist: Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 (Japanese, 1618–1694)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: ca. 1675–80
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper (sumi-e (ink print)
Dimensions: 11 1/4 x 20 2/3 in. (28.6 x 52.5 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
Object Number: JP647
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣

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Leaf from One Hundred Japanese Women, Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 Japanese, Monochrome woodblock print; ink on paper, Japan — Leaf from One Hundred Japanese Women
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
ca. 1695

Standing Beauty, Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 Japanese, Matted painting; ink and color on paper, Japan — Standing Beauty
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣

Two Young Samurai, Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Two Young Samurai
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
ca. 1680

Scene in the Yoshiwara, Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Scene in the Yoshiwara
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
ca. 1680

Two Lovers, Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Two Lovers
Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣
ca. 1675–80

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