Haru no yoru no on-asobi (Music on a spring evening).

Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), also known as Toyokuni III, was the most popular and prolific designer of ukiyo-e in 19th century Japan. He is estimated to have produced between 20,000 and 25,000 designs for woodblock prints during his lifetime. His reputation was clinched when he was in his early twenties; it was as great as that of his teacher Toyokuni I, and lifelong. His status was largely unchallenged in his lifetime, though his reputation was long unfairly neglected because of cyclical attitudes to Japanese prints. Frank Whitford recognised this early on: ‘Perhaps because of his huge output… Kunisada has not been treated well by the historians of ukiyo-e, although much of his work… reached the highest standards.’ His reputation was rescued considerably later than those of Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi, really only dating from the 1990s through the scholarship of Jan van Doesburg and Sebastian Izzard. Kunisada showed the versatility typical of print designers; while best known for his depictions of kabuki and his yakusha-e actor prints, he was also a specialist in bijin-ga (beautiful women) as here, illustrations from The Tales of Genji (also alluded to in this triptych) and more luxurious surimono prints.

This  three-panel oban print is variously titled Music on a spring evening, Elegant amusements on a spring evening (Boston MFA title) and Evening music. It depicts Prince Genji presiding over a concert in an elegant interior. All the players are young women attired in exquisite kimonos. The familiar parallels between the evanescence of human and floral beauty are conveyed by the sakura blossom outside. There are obvious parallels with Kunisada's near-contemporary triptych Three women viewing cherry blossom on a riverbank (Te Papa 2016-0008-33).

Sources:

David Bell and Mark Stocker, 'Rising sun at Te Papa: the Heriot collection of Japanese art', Tuhinga, 29 (2018), pp. 50-76.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts, https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/elegant-amusements-on-a-spring-evening-haru-no-yoru-no-on-asobi-477520

Fuji Arts, https://www.fujiarts.com/cgi-bin/item.pl?item=770736

Frank Whitford, Japanese Prints and Western Painters (London, 1977).

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   May 2019