Autumn at Asakusa; Viewing cherry blossoms at Ueno Park
date: label: Date
content: 17th century
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 (1618-1694)
notes: label: Label
content: In March 1657 a fire destroyed much of the city of Edo (Tokyo). More than one hundred thousand people perished in the blaze or in the snowstorm that immediately followed. Fashions distinctive to the late seventeenth century are clearly evident among the nearly four hundred figures populating the expanse of this painting. Thus, these screens, painted in the artist's final years, should be understood as Moronobu's celebration of the seasonal pleasures of a resurrected and vital metropolis.
label: Label
content: The right-hand screen depicts autumn activities. In the foreground is Kannonji Temple and the surrounding environment of Asakusa. In the upper left, above this scene, boats traverse the Sumida River to the opposite bank, where the pleasure houses of Mukojima await visitors. The left-hand screen shows throngs enjoying the cherry blossoms in the Ueno area. The Kaneiji Temple is at the far left, and Shinobazu Pond is in the foreground.
label: Label
content: Hishikawa Moronobu, born into a family of textile designers, is regarded by some as a progenitor of the ukiyo-e style (art depicting contemporary life and pleasures) that flourished during the Edo period (1615-1868). He consolidated disparate genre painting styles into a canon that influenced several generations of artists.
label: Provenance
content: To 1906
label: Provenance
content: Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1906 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1906 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1906 [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] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Screen List, L. 118, 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: Hokusai: Mad About Painting (November 20, 2019 to January 9, 2022)
label: Exhibition History
content: Seasons: Japanese Screens (July 9, 2011 to January 22, 2012)
label: Exhibition History
content: Surveying the Collections: Poets and Parties (July 2, 2000 to February 4, 2001)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Screens (May 9, 1993 to November 13, 1995)
label: Exhibition History
content: Autumn Colors (October 19 to December 20, 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Screens (February 11, 1983 to July 19, 1988)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Lacquer (April 16, 1979 to October 8, 1980)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art (July 1, 1974 to April 10, 1978)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art—Painted Screens (August 18, 1967 to May 2, 1973)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art, Galleries 3, 4, and 5 (January 1, 1963 to September 16, 1970)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens, 1957 (March 20, 1957 to March 30, 1960)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 5 (February 25, 1956 to March 15, 1957)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens (October 3, 1947 to November 10, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens and Scrolls, 1946 (April 30, 1946 to October 3, 1947)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens and Scrolls (April 5, 1933 to December 8, 1941)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: autumn
label: Topic
content: horse
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: cherry blossom
label: Topic
content: boat
label: Topic
content: temple
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: palanquin
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: F1906.266-267
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink, color, and gold on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (.266): 179.9 x 382.3 cm (70 13/16 x 150 1/2 in)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (.267): 180 x 382.2 cm (70 7/8 x 150 1/2 in)