Introduction

Exhibition Sections

Hishikawa Moronobu
Okumura Masanobu
Suzuki Harunobu
Katsukawa Shunshō
Tsutaya Jūzaburō
Hokusai and His Circle
The Nineteenth Century

Reference

Credits
Exhibition Information
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Okumura Masanobu: Innovator and Entrepreneur

One of Masanobu’s most important contributions was his extensive use of the witty allusions and parodies now known as mitate-e, “allusive pictures.” In ukiyo-e, mitate-e cleverly reinterpret, often with a modish twist, a classical or other well-known theme. A favorite motif is the interaction between courtesans and Daruma, or Bodhidharma, the legendary founder of Zen Buddhism. Daruma is depicted here much as he would be in an old-fashioned Zen (Chinese: Chan) painting, crossing the Yangtze River on a reed. Here, however, because he is being ferried by a Japanese courtesan wearing gaily patterned robes, the Sumida River in Edo replaces the Chinese setting, and his destination becomes the Yoshiwara. Masanobu’s skill at this kind of parody greatly influenced Harunobu.

Photo: Kaz Tsuruta. © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

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