# Cherry Blossoms in the Wind

**Utagawa Toyokuni** (Japanese, 1769–1825)  
late 1790s  
woodblock print, ink and color on paper  
Overall: 38.7 x 80 cm (15 1/4 x 31 1/2 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.97.a. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.97.a).

## About this work

Highly regarded for his images of actors, Toyokuni was also known for his prints of beauties that demonstrate his brilliant skill in composition. This triptych depicts a joyful hanami (flower viewing) scene in spring. One woman stands on a huge wine bottle, while another one sits on a samurai’s shoulder; in both scenes, the women are tying prayers or poems on tree branches. On the left, two servants protect a well-dressed lady from the wind. Their fluttering, long-sleeved kimonos capture the wind’s movement. Standing in a triad, the three groups form a stable, harmonic composition against the cherry blossom background.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Utagawa Toyokuni designed this in the late 1790s, aged about 27. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Colour woodblock print.** In Japan these were a team effort. The artist drew the design, a carver cut it into cherry-wood blocks, one block for each colour, and a printer brushed on the pigment and rubbed each sheet by hand. Full-colour prints of this kind were called nishiki-e, “brocade pictures”, from the 1760s on.

### [Utagawa Toyokuni](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/utagawa-toyokuni)

Japanese, 1769–1825

Toyokuni studied with Utagawa Toyoharu, founder of the Utagawa school, and made his name in the 1790s with vivid portraits of kabuki actors and pictures of fashionable women. His full-length series of actors in their roles, issued in 1794–96, rivalled the best of the day, and his commercial success made the Utagawa line the dominant force in Edo woodblock design. Among his many pupils were Kunisada and Kuniyoshi, who carried the school into the next generation.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- The artist was about 27
- Real size: about 15 × 31 in (39 × 80 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 18th century
- Movement: [Ukiyo-e](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/ukiyo-e)
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/700.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/700/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/cherry-blossoms-in-the-wind-cma-148387).