A Shinto Priest, Three Women and a Child
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1799-1801
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849)
notes: label: School/Tradition
content: Ukiyo-e
label: Label
content: This painting depicts a Shinto priest blessing young women who bear iron cooking pots perched on their heads. One leads a robust young child by the hand. The festival, in which young women carry pots upon their heads, was probably performed at the Tsukuma Shrine in the Omi region around Lake Biwa, to the east of Kyoto. The painting combines strong, expressive brushwork, seen in the representation of the tree and its foliage, with clear, detailed rendering of the figures, their gestures, and their colorful costumes.
label: Provenance
content: To 1904
label: Provenance
content: Bunshichi Kobayashi (circa 1861-1923), Boston, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Yokohama, to 1904 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1904 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunshichi Kobayashi in 1904 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Screen List, L. 93, pg. 26, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Ancient and Alive: Japan's Native Gods (October 14, 2017 to April 29, 2018)
label: Exhibition History
content: Hokusai: Japanese Screens (February 18 to July 29, 2012)
label: Exhibition History
content: Hokusai (October 25, 2005 to May 14, 2006)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)
label: Exhibition History
content: Hokusai Bicentennial Exhibition (March 30, 1960 to August 16, 1961)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Kobayashi Bunshichi 小林文七 (ca. 1861-1923) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: tree
label: Topic
content: pine tree
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: child
label: Topic
content: woman
label: Topic
content: Shinto
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: priest
label: Topic
content: ukiyo-e
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1904.177
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink, gold, and color on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (overall): 175 x 179 cm (68 7/8 x 70 1/2 in)