Picnic in a Daimyo’s Garden

This print is the left portion of a triptych that shows a group of ladies picnicking in a daimyo's garden. Though it was common during the Edo period for daimyo to have several wives in order to ensure the birth of an heir, the seishitsu was his official wife. It was a great event when the seishitsu decided to throw a picnic for her ladies-in-waiting, and many would travel in beautifully decorated palanquins to attend the event. Here, women carry plates of food, buckets of water, and a shamisen out into the garden for their picnic. One woman carries a plate of tofu, which during the Edo period was reserved for the shogun and the upper classes.