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Beneath the Willow
Tsukioka Sessai (Japanese, d. 1839)
after 1778
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Overall: 94 x 33.2 cm (37 x 13 1/16 in.)
- Culture
- Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Japanese Art
- Credit line
- The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Two young women cool themselves by a river as a willow blows in the breeze. One crouches down to rinse a hand towel, while the other sits with her chin balanced on her fan. Beside her is a black lacquer tray with a floral design in gold, holding her tobacco kit.
Tsukioka Tessai was an Osaka-based ukiyo-e artist who was especially respected for his representations of beautiful women (bijin). The court bestowed upon him the rank Bridge of the Law (hokyo) in 1778, and he was eventually elevated in rank to Eye of the Law (hogen).
