Beauties at the Seashore

Ippitsusai Bunchō (Japanese, active c. 1765–92)

c. 1765–92

Medium
hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
Image: 41.3 x 54 cm (16 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.); Overall: 134 x 72.8 cm (52 3/4 x 28 11/16 in.)
Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art, Japanese Art
Credit line
John L. Severance Fund
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

View at the Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

Bunchō portrays the popular subject of cooling off by the water on a late spring or early summer evening, as suggested by the willow. The seated lady enjoys her pipe-smoking—a popular pastime for Edo women. In the background, some fireworks are set off from a small boat.