Dotombori River at Night (Osaka)

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Dotombori River at Night (Osaka)

Artist Oda Kazuma (Japanese, 1882-1956)

Date1918

Dimensionsoverall: 13 1/4 x 18 1/4 in. (33.7 x 46.4 cm)

Mediumcolor lithograph

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of the Artist

Object number

1949.123

Not on View

Label TextThis image is one of 20 from the series “Views of Osaka” (1917–19), which contributed to Oda Kazuma’s fame as a lithographer. The series is a modern look at the “Famous Places” landscape prints pioneered in the early 19th century by masters of the woodblock print Hokusai and Hiroshige. Kazuma’s version, though, is informed by his study of Western art and his practice of printing his images himself, rather than working with a print publisher. As a result, Dotombori River at Night was unusual in Japanese prints of the time for its modern European take on the subject of a Japanese city. The Dotombori River (actually a canal) flows through Osaka, the largest city in western Japan. The area along the river has flourished as an entertainment district since the Edo period (1615–1868) and is still the heart of Osaka nightlife.Exhibition HistoryToledo, Toledo Museum of Art, The City, November 6, 2015-February 14, 2016.