Playing in the Ukiyo: Ukiyo-e's endless laugh in the vortex of Bakumatsu and Meiji
Exhibition Outline
Ukiyo-e depict the world we are living in now. Rather than depicting the hardships of this world (“憂世,” which reads “ukiyo” and means “miserable world”), they focus on pleasure (“浮世,” which also reads “ukiyo” but means “pleasant world”). Among them, the “farce” of giga (“戯画,” which means farcical pictures) makes the viewers laugh and is proving very popular in recent years.
This exhibition focuses mainly on giga produced from the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate to the Meiji era, i.e. the latter half of the nineteenth century, mostly from our own collection of ukiyo-e. It was a period during which uncertainty caused by natural disasters and wars was swirling among the people. Despite such turmoil, ukiyo-e continued undauntedly to enjoy “farce,” and the characters depicted never ceased to laugh.
In addition to giga by Utagawa Hiroshige and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, there are namazu-e (catfish pictures), hashika-e (measles pictures), late-Edo caricatures, kaika-e (modernization pictures) by Shōsai Ikkei, and ponchi-e (joke pictures influenced by the English magazine Punch) by Kobayashi Kiyochika. Through altogether approximately 250 works presented in two terms, we hope you will enjoy tracing the “farce” in the “ukiyo,” both miserable and pleasant.
Exhibition Information
| Exhibition Name | Playing in the Ukiyo: Ukiyo-e’s endless laugh in the vortex of Bakumatsu and Meiji |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 12(Sat.), 2026 – November 23(Mon.) 【first half】 September 12(Sat.) –October 12(Mon.) 【second half】 October 15(Thu)– November 23(Mon.) |
| Admission fees | Adults ¥1000 (¥800), University and high school students ¥500 (¥400), Junior high school students and younger free of charge. Fees given in brackets are those for groups of 20 or more people |
Highlights
Utagawa Hirochige, Ship Entering Port, Teacup on a Stand, from the series Improvised Shadow Pictures, 1830-44, Mr. Hanyū Jirō's Collection (formerly own by Mr. Hanyū Masanori) on Deposit at Machida City Museum of Graphic Ats【second half】
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Looks Fierce But Is Really Nice, c.1847, Machida City Museum of Graphic Ats【first half】
Please Don't Rain, Because We are Camping Out, 1855, Machida City Museum of Graphic Ats【second half】
Children at Play: Picture of a Battle with Peashooters, 1868, Machida City Museum of Graphic Ats【first half】
Shōsai Ikkei, Fireworks at Ryōgoku, from the series Thirty-Six Comic Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo, 1872, Machida City Museum of Graphic Ats【first half】
Kobayashi Kiyochika, Satirical View of Sumidagawa Ushijima, Tokyo, from the series Kiyochika Punch, c.1881, Machida City Museum of Graphic Ats【second half】
