Hinamatsuri—Springtime Girls’ Day Festival
The small landscape depicted celebrates Mukōjima—situated on the east bank of the Sumida River. This is still a famous destination for viewing the cherry blossom trees that were first planted there by Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684–1751). The fashionable young girl in the foreground is holding what is likely an emperor doll associated with Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival) or Girls' Day Festival, held on March third to celebrate and offer good wishes for girls’ health and happiness. Odake Kunikazu was a student of Utagawa Kunimasa and the oldest of three artist brothers. Prints of this type, called kuchi-e, translated as “mouth pictures,” were made as frontispiece illustrations for novels and literary journals. They were especially popular during the Meiji era (1868–1912).
The small landscape depicted celebrates Mukōjima—situated on the east bank of the Sumida River. This is still a famous destination for viewing the cherry blossom trees that were first planted there by Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684–1751). The fashionable young girl in the foreground is holding what is likely an emperor doll associated with <em>Hinamatsuri</em> (Doll Festival) or Girls 'Day Festival, held on March third to celebrate and offer good wishes for girls’ health and happiness. Odake Kunikazu was a student of Utagawa Kunimasa and the oldest of three artist brothers. Prints of this type, called <em>kuchi-e</em>, translated as “mouth pictures,” were made as frontispiece illustrations for novels and literary journals. They were especially popular during the Meiji era (1868–1912).