Women on a boat at New Year imitating the Seven Gods of Good Fortune - Utagawa Toyokuni I
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Description
A traditional Japanese woodblock triptych depicting women dressed as the Seven Gods of Good Fortune aboard a treasure ship.
This triptych by Utagawa Toyokuni I presents a playful interpretation of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune (Shichifukujin). During the Edo period, it was common for citizens to engage in mitate-e, a form of parody or visual pun where contemporary figures adopted the guises of historical, literary, or mythological characters. Here, women are depicted aboard a treasure ship, assuming the roles of the deities who traditionally bring prosperity and luck at the start of the new year.
The composition spans three sheets, creating a wide view of the vessel as it navigates stylised waves. The figures are dressed in the elaborate robes associated with the gods, holding their characteristic attributes, such as the mallet of Daikokuten or the fan of Hotei. The inclusion of a crane in the sky and a turtle in the water adds layers of auspicious symbolism, as both animals represent longevity in Japanese culture. The artist employs a clear, graphic line quality typical of the Ukiyo-e tradition, balancing the figures with the decorative elements of the boat and the surrounding water.
Toyokuni I was a master of the Utagawa school, known for his ability to capture the theatricality of the period. This work demonstrates his skill in managing complex multi-panel compositions while maintaining a sense of narrative cohesion. The muted colour palette, typical of early nineteenth-century woodblock printing, allows the viewer to focus on the expressive gestures and the humorous nature of the masquerade. The print functions as both a celebration of the festive season and a clever commentary on the social habits of Edo-era society, where the boundaries between the divine and the mundane were frequently blurred for the sake of entertainment and cultural engagement.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
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- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
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- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Women on a boat at New Year imitating the Seven Gods of Good Fortune - Utagawa Toyokuni I
Artist Biography
Utagawa Toyokuni I
He was born in 1769, the son of a puppet maker. He studied under Utagawa Toyoharu, founder of the Utagawa school, and followed convention by taking one syllable of his master's name. His early work synthesised the styles of Utamaro, Eishi and Choki through close study and relentless practice. By the mid-1790s he had found his own voice. Yakusha Butai no Sugatae (Portraits of Actors in Their Various Roles), a series of large polychrome prints produced between 1794 and 1796, showed kabuki actors costumed and posed on stage rather than seated in formal dress. The series was a commercial triumph and set the standard for actor portraiture for the next generation.
He also excelled at bijin-ga, pictures of beautiful women, establishing compositions that ukiyo-e artists followed for decades. His innovations extended to format: he pioneered the use of diptych, triptych and polyptych arrangements that allowed more complex narrative compositions than the single sheet could hold.
As demand surged, Toyokuni's studio expanded until his personal involvement in each print became nominal. The quality of his later work declined, but the school he built survived him. His two most gifted pupils, Kunisada and Kuniyoshi, became major figures in their own right, and the Utagawa school dominated ukiyo-e production through the final decades of the Edo period. He died in 1825.
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