Ota Memorial Museum: Katsushika Oi's “Interior of a Yoshiwara Brothel” and the Lineage of Night Views
Until December 6, 2026, the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Harajuku, Tokyo, is hosting “Katsushika Oi's ‘Interior of a Yoshiwara Brothel’ and the Lineage of Night Views.” The first period runs until November 3, and the second begins November 7. Apart from “Interior of a Yoshiwara Brothel,” all the works are swapped between the two periods.
The main attraction is Katsushika Oi's hand-painted picture “Interior of a Yoshiwara Brothel.” Only a dozen or so of Oi's paintings are known to exist, and this masterpiece is being shown for the first time in three years. Its defining feature is the contrast between light and shadow.
The other highlight is an exhibition that follows the flow of night scenes in ukiyo-e. It includes works depicting starry nights, fireworks and rainy evenings, such as Utagawa Hiroshige's “Famous Views of Edo: Night Scene at Saruwaka-chō,” Kobayashi Kiyochika's “Tokyo Ryōgoku Bridge in the Age of Civilization,” and pieces by Torii Kiyonaga and Utagawa Kunisada. Hiroshige's deep indigo night sky and Kiyochika's night views of the city in the early Meiji era are a pairing I would love to see side by side.
In addition, night-view prints made in the late Meiji period for overseas markets are introduced. They include reproductions and homages based on works by Hiroshige and Kiyochika, and the show also looks at the publishers Hasegawa Takejirō and Watanabe Shōzaburō.
In woodblock prints, the “night” changes dramatically depending on how the sumi ink and indigo are layered. I felt that anyone interested in printmaking would enjoy it even more. Admission is 1,200 yen for adults, and it is cash only.
Source: Ota Memorial Museum of Art
The main attraction is Katsushika Oi's hand-painted picture “Interior of a Yoshiwara Brothel.” Only a dozen or so of Oi's paintings are known to exist, and this masterpiece is being shown for the first time in three years. Its defining feature is the contrast between light and shadow.
The other highlight is an exhibition that follows the flow of night scenes in ukiyo-e. It includes works depicting starry nights, fireworks and rainy evenings, such as Utagawa Hiroshige's “Famous Views of Edo: Night Scene at Saruwaka-chō,” Kobayashi Kiyochika's “Tokyo Ryōgoku Bridge in the Age of Civilization,” and pieces by Torii Kiyonaga and Utagawa Kunisada. Hiroshige's deep indigo night sky and Kiyochika's night views of the city in the early Meiji era are a pairing I would love to see side by side.
In addition, night-view prints made in the late Meiji period for overseas markets are introduced. They include reproductions and homages based on works by Hiroshige and Kiyochika, and the show also looks at the publishers Hasegawa Takejirō and Watanabe Shōzaburō.
In woodblock prints, the “night” changes dramatically depending on how the sumi ink and indigo are layered. I felt that anyone interested in printmaking would enjoy it even more. Admission is 1,200 yen for adults, and it is cash only.
Source: Ota Memorial Museum of Art
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