Hiroshige 広重: White Cat in Window Gazing at Asakusa Ricefields and Torinomachi Festival (Reserved)

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858)

Title: Asakusa Ricefields and Torinomachi Festival 浅草田甫酉の
Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo 名所江戸百景 (Meisho Edo Hyakkei)

Date: 11/1857

A white cat contentedly takes in the view the from the window of a courtesan in the Yoshiwara pleasure district. The signs of the occupant are everywhere, although she is sensed rather than seen. At left we see a packet of hair pins in the shape of small rakes, one already pulled out, probably to admire in front of the client; these symbolize “raking in” wealth in the year ahead, and may be seen as a gift from her client. We see intimacy tissues, a rinsing bowl and a towel--perhaps she has just said goodbye to a client. Although some have surmised that the courtesan and her client might still be behind the privacy screen at left, to this viewer the room feels quite empty of people, and I’d guess that the cat would be turned towards any activity in the room. The cat has its innate feline detachment, and this, combined with the literal bars on the windows, help to create the feeling of being a world away from the huge procession of people in the fields of the middle distance. The crowds are gathered for the Torinomachi Festival, the busiest day of the year in the Yoshiwara. Perhaps the most celebrated cat design in all of ukiyo-e.

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. 
Dimensions: ôban (35.8 x 24.2 cm)
Publisher: Uoya Eikichi
Literature: Henry Smith II: Hiroshige One Hundred Famous View of Edo, plate 101. Paget, Rhiannon. Divine Felines: The Cat in Japanese Art. Tuttle (2023), p. 61. See The Art Institute of Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of art and many other museum collections.

Seal: Aratame & Snake Year/11th month (1857) 11
Signature: Hiroshige ga

SKU: HIC201S