A Blacksmith Item Number: 2723/7 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Vertically rectangular multicoloured print depicting a blacksmith and a labourer working in the open yard beside a large outdoor oven. Both men hold hammers and other tools of the trade hang on the walls. A woman peers over the wall at the back and a bird cage hangs on a side post.

History Of Use

Reproduction from a set of paintings called “Shokunin ezukushi” (職人絵尽/A Collection of Pictures of Artisans), which consists of 24 pieces, painted on screens, which are kept in the Kitain (喜多院; temple) at Kawagoe, in Saitama Prefecture. The paintings are attributed to Tosa Mitsuoki (土佐光起), who was appointed “Sakon-Shogen” early in the era of Genroku and made Chief of the Painting Bureau.