Tall figures, blossom and a bridge

Torii Kiyonaga

Torii Kiyonaga in Edo, from 1781 to about 1791, drawing tall figures in groups. Three women and a man stroll past a dark cherry trunk at Gotenyama, pink blossom overhead, and Ichikawa Danjūrō V walks with his family, a small boy in red on a young man’s shoulders. Under the yellow timbers of Azuma Bridge a woman stands in the prow of a boat, her robes blowing. A woman in red looks down at a black dog on her hem, and Danjūrō II sharpens a huge arrow on a whetstone.

As a puzzle

Start from the faces, the black hair and the boldest robes: red chrysanthemums, red stripes, black coats, the yellow timbers of the bridge. The grounds are plain and pale, cream, tan or soft yellow, and the colours have faded, so the sky at Gotenyama and the bare ground behind the family are slow, like the lattice and grey rain in Forgetting Filial Piety. The boating party is the busiest and takes a high count; keep the rest moderate.

A good size here: 50–200 pieces.

Also filed under Ukiyo-e

Subjects here: Flowers Animals Rivers and Lakes Music and Dance

6 pictures, pick one to build

Ichikawa Danjūrō II in the Role of Soga Gorō from the Play "Yanone" ca. 1790

Cherry Blosson Viewing at Gotenyama ca. 1784

A Boating Party under Azuma Bridge ca. 1785

Forgetting Filial Piety ca. 1781

Pictures of Ten Styles (Jittaiga Fuzoku): A Young Woman with a Dog ca. 1790–91

Ichikawa Danjuro V and His Family 1782