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Okumura Masanobu: Innovator and Entrepreneur

Okumura Masanobu (1686–1764)
Ukifune Chapter of The Tale of Genji (Genji Ukifune)
Mid-1740s
Woodcut, handcolored
32.4 x 43.8 cm
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Gift of the Grabhorn Ukiyo-e Collection, 2005.100.9

The lovers in a boat are an irreverent homage to Ukifune (A boat adrift), one of the best-known episodes of The Tale of Genji. The floating world celebrity Sanogawa Ichimatsu I beats a melody for his companion (possibly the actor Onoe Kikugorō I in the role of a courtesan), who has set aside her sake cup. Her tipsy tune is inscribed overhead.

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

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