Before Tarō Inari Shrine at the Asakusa Ricefields 浅草田圃太郎稲前

Object Details

• Artist

  Kobayashi Kiyochika 小林清親 (1847-1915)

• Publisher

  Fukuda Kumajiro 福田熊治良 (active ca. 1874-1898)

• Label

  Throughout the nineteenth century, Tarō Inari Shrine was a popular Shinto destination for cult worshippers who sought miraculous healings. By the late 1870s, however, the site had become a wasteland, populated only by a lone gate and some wretched buildings. In this profoundly melancholy print, Kiyochika relies on the strong gradations of tone from the foreground to the distance, the stark architecture of the haunting torii gate, which lingers like a gaunt relic, and the severe contrast between the natural and man-made worlds. It is an unusual composition for Kiyochika, who typically populated his landscapes with human figures.

• Provenance

  To 2003

  Robert O. Muller (1911-2003), Newtown, CT, to 2003

  From 2003

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, bequeathed by Robert O. Muller in 2003

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Kiyochika: Master of the Night (March 29 to July 27, 2014)

  The Worlds of Dreams: Modern Japanese Engravings from the Collection of Robert O. Muller (October 26, 2006 to January 7, 2007)

  Dream Worlds: Modern Japanese Prints and Paintings from the Robert O. Muller Collection (November 06, 2004 to January 7, 2007)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Robert O. Muller (1911-2003)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Robert O. Muller Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1880s, 1870s

• Name

  Muller, Robert O.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Shrine, Art, Moon, Robert O. Muller collection, Outer space, Japanese Art, Gate, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), Nocturne

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints