Beauty Turning Her Head, Hishikawa Moronobu — Beauty Turning Her Head, c. 1685-94

Hishikawa Moronobu

Died 1694 · Ukiyo-e · 13 works

Hishikawa Moronobu, who died in 1694, came to Edo from Awa province by the 1670s. He illustrated books and designed prints, then painted scrolls late in his career, and his pictures of townspeople at leisure, including visits to the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, were celebrated for capturing their era. He is credited as the first true artist of ukiyo-e.

Walk all 13 works View in the Atlas

13 works · 1677–1694

By periodEarliest first

c. 1673/81 · 3 works

1682 · 6 works

Hishikawa Moronobu, credited as the first true ukiyo-e artist, drew the people of Edo at leisure, in black-ink prints and in paintings. Torii Kiyonobu I, founder of the Torii school, made kabuki actors his main subject. The courtesans in such pictures, women of Edo’s licensed Yoshiwara quarter, were exploited in a system of forced and strictly controlled prostitution.

In the museum: Ukiyo-e room · 2 works

1683–1694 · 4 works

In the museum: Ukiyo-e room · 1 work

Original museum reproductions, with source records on every artwork page.

Artist information: Art Institute of Chicago, Asian Art Museum.

Public-domain art. An imagined museum; no museum affiliation.