Section from Theatres of the East

Category

Library Item

Item no

43194

Title

Section from Theatres of the East, a Japanese handscroll painting

Description

Section of a handscroll painting depicting the theatre district of Edo, or Tokyo in Japan as it is known today.

Reading the scroll from right to left, this is the very start of the painting, as it is unrolled. It features clouds painted in silver and gold, crests and a poem.

Artist / maker

Furuyama, Moromasa

Date

1720

Type

Ink and colour

Location

Art and Design Library

Both Chinese and Japanese artists of this period perfected the art of a linear narrative on a handscroll, to be unrolled in sections from right to left, in segments of approximately 60cm wide. Onlookers would return to the artwork to view the picture as the sections revealed at regular intervals over a period of time. The story develops in time and depicts simultaneous activities in a perspective view. (It is thought that the sections in this case were larger, as depicted here at around 120cm.)

The handscroll was given to Edinburgh Central Library as a gift from the Dyer family. It was painted by Furuyama Moromasa and it is signed 'Nihon eshi Furuyama Moromasa e' [Picture by Furuyama Moromasa, painter of Japan']. He is reputed to have been the son of Furuyama Moroshige (Moronobu's senior pupil). Hishikawa Moronobu (1618-1694) was the leading artist in Edo (Tokyo) and is regarded as the founder of the school of 'Ukiyo-e', known to the west as Pictures of the Floating World - scenes from the theatre and the life of courtesans.

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Related subjects

Natural phenomena > Weather > Clouds

Places > Asia > Japan

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