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Kitagawa Utamaro

Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River

c. 1800
One of a triptych of color woodblock prints

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

Pleasure-boating in the evening on the Sumida River to escape the summer’s heat was about as popular as viewing cherry blossoms in spring for Edo townspeople. The river also led the way to the Yoshiwara, the licensed brothel district. A boating party with courtesans and gentlemen jostles up next to a fishing boat. Utamaro enjoyed portraying a scene through the design of a fishing or mosquito net. The different colors of the net suggest these impressions may be from two different series.

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