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A Beauty

Fujimaro (Japanese, d. 1830)c. 1810

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

Many ukiyo-e paintings and prints focus on <em>bijin</em> (美人), or “beautiful people.” Female courtesans and entertainers were the main draw in the pleasure district of Edo (now Tokyo), but young men were also available. The poem here reads as follows: "The full blooming cherry / is not the only flower worth mentioning. / The color of the young plum tree / blooms as well."

The full blooming cherry is a metaphor for mature women, and the plum for young men.

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Learn more about this artwork.
  • Title: A Beauty
  • Creator: Fujimaro (Japanese, d. 1830)
  • Date Created: c. 1810
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 180.4 x 48.3 cm (71 x 19 in.); Painting only: 94 x 31 cm (37 x 12 3/16 in.)
  • Provenance: (Felice Fedder Oriental Art, Inc., New York, NY, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith), The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.256
  • Medium: hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
  • Original Title: 美人図
  • Inscriptions: Artist's signature and two seals middle right side
  • Fun Fact: The handsome youth in the painting is accompanied by a boy carrying a plum branch.
  • Department: Japanese Art
  • Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
  • Credit Line: The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
  • Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
  • Accession Number: 1985.256
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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