Fine Art Poster
From $29
A giclée print on 200gsm matte fine art paper, using a twelve-colour process for accurate, fade-resistant colour. Supplied unframed, delivered flat or rolled.
Tetsukuri no Tamagawa on the Musashino Plain - Utagawa Toyokuni I
Regular price
$29.00 USD
Sale price
$29.00 USD
Regular price
Archival giclée
Frames arrive ready to hang
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Made to order
Description
A traditional ukiyo-e triptych by Utagawa Toyokuni I, depicting women washing cloth by a stream in the Musashino Plain.
This triptych by Utagawa Toyokuni I depicts the theme of the Six Tamagawa (Six Jewel Rivers), a subject frequently explored in Japanese art and literature. The scene focuses on the Chofu Tamagawa, often associated with the process of fulling cloth. The composition is divided across three sheets, showing women engaged in the rhythmic labour of washing and beating fabric by a stream.
Toyokuni I, a master of the Utagawa school, captures the figures with the elongated proportions and graceful postures characteristic of his bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women). The women wear patterned kimonos, their movements fluid as they interact with the water and the wooden tools. The stream itself is rendered with stylised, flowing lines that suggest movement without breaking the two-dimensional nature of the print.
In the background, the Musashino Plain is suggested through minimal detail, keeping the focus on the human activity in the foreground. The colour palette is restrained, relying on soft ochres, muted blues, and the natural tone of the paper to create a sense of harmony. The print demonstrates the technical skill of the woodblock carvers and printers of the Edo period, who managed to convey texture in the fabric and the reflective quality of the water through precise line work and subtle colour application.
This work provides a glimpse into the aesthetic priorities of the early 19th century, where the daily tasks of common life were elevated through artistic representation. The arrangement of the figures across the three panels creates a narrative flow, guiding the eye from the initial washing process on the left to the final stages of handling the cloth on the right. It is a representative example of the collaborative nature of ukiyo-e production, where the artist, carver, and printer worked in concert to produce these widely circulated images.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Manufacturing
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.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
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
Complete The Look
Tetsukuri no Tamagawa on the Musashino Plain - Utagawa Toyokuni I
Regular price
From $29.00 USD
Sale price
From $29.00 USD
Regular price
Fine Art Poster / A4 (21x29.7 cm) / -
Artist Biography
Utagawa Toyokuni I
"My pictures are merely something that I draw, and nothing more than that." Toyokuni's self-assessment was modest to the point of dishonesty. He transformed kabuki actor portraiture from stiff formal likenesses into dynamic images of performers in character on stage, and in doing so built the most commercially powerful woodblock print studio in Edo.
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.
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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Fine Art Framed
From $89
The same fine art print in a solid wood frame with UV-protective acrylic glaze and rigid backing. Five frame colours. Arrives ready to hang.
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