Takashi KONDO

In this paper, I have attempted to examine the A Folding Screens of Merry-making under Blossoms（kaka yūraku) in the collection of Kyoritsu Women’s University Museum, what kind of work it is, its outline, the style of painting, the background of its production, and the assumption of the client. First of all, on the screen of the work, there are many inherited patterns and figures from the printed books, prints, and handwritten paintings of Hishikawa Moronobu, an Edo period ukiyo-e artist. By analyzing the coincidence of these patterns and figures, I concluded that the subject of this work is a depiction of Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) in Ueno and a genre scene in Yoshiwara. I also pointed out that the artist of this work was most likely Hishikawa Moronobu and his school of painters, and that this work shows an aspect of the Hishikawa School workshop after the death of Hishikawa Moronobu. Furthermore, by analyzing the information that can be read from the painting, I assumed that the order was placed by a wealthy man from a samurai family, especially one with strong feelings for Yoshiwara prostitutes. This is the "male gaze" toward women in the Edo period, and is also a part of the power structure in the Edo period. This work can be seen as a representation of this.