Collection

Asian
Three Drunken Women
Torii Kiyonaga(1752-1815) Japan, Edo period, ca. 1785 Hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper 25.375 x 50.5 in. (64.5 x 128.3 cm) Gift of Robert Allerton, 1957 (2389.1)

A married woman in blue-and-white-striped yukata (summer kimono), apparently in tears, is seated between two women. She holds a sake cup in her right hand and covers part of her face with her left sleeve. Another woman, seated opposite her, points with a pipe and talks angrily to her. A third woman seems amused with the situation. The inscription above translates: "How boisterous are these intoxicated women! One is merrily laughing and another is bullying the others. [by] Yomo no Abara." The author of the inscription was one of the best comic poets and writers during the Edo period and went by the pen name Ota Naojiro (1749-1823).

The painting falls into the category of nikuhitsu (heavy pigment brush genre paintings of the floating world). The artist, Torii Kiyonaga, identified by signature and seal, was a leading ukiyo-e painter, print artist, and illustrator of the day. Fourth titular head of the Torii school, he produced posters, playbills, programs, and prints depicting leading actors and plays for the Kabuki theaters. His genius, however, went far beyond the portrayal of actors. He specialized in the depiction of elegant young men and women on a grand scale with solid, realistic draftsmanship. His poetic and evocative style formed the basis of Utamaro's art in the early 1700s.