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Utagawa Toyokuni

The Shika Teahouse

early 1790s
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

Exotic birds and tobacco—Western imports—feature in this composition. Peacocks and parrots were brought to Japan by Dutch traders in the 1700s. Many of the visitors to this teahouse, which specialized in displays of foreign birds, admire the unusual fowl while sipping tea and smoking long pipes. The birds have attracted curious courtesans, entertainers, samurai, merchants and their wives, and even a Buddhist monk.

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