Print 1786 - 1854

Utagawa Kunisada created this woodblock print in 19th-century Japan. The image shows two women releasing birds, a Buddhist act of compassion. This print offers insights into the social and religious customs of the time. In the Edo period, the merchant class was rising in wealth and status, and with it, their patronage of the arts. Woodblock prints like this became popular as a form of mass media. Kunisada, as one of the leading printmakers of his day, adeptly captured the fashions, theater, and customs of this vibrant urban culture. The act of releasing birds, seen here, was a way to gain spiritual merit, and it also speaks to a broader cultural interest in nature and its beauty. To understand Kunisada's work more fully, we can consult theater programs, fashion plates, and religious texts of the period. Such research emphasizes how art is always embedded in a specific social and institutional context.