# Sei Shonagon, from the series Ancient Patterns (Kodai moyo)

**Kobayashi Kiyochika** (Japanese, 1847–1915)  
Meiji period (1896–1912), 1896  
Color woodblock print, oban triptych  
Left: 37.5 × 25 cm (14 13/16 × 9 7/8 in.); Center: 37.5 × 25 cm (14 13/16 × 9 7/8 in.); Right: 38.5 × 25.8 cm (15 3/16 × 10 3/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1998.163.1-3. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/150411).

## About this work

Kobayashi Kiyochika designed this in the Meiji period (1896–1912), 1896, aged 49. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of color woodblock print, oban triptych.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### 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.
- **Triptych.** Three sheets designed to sit side by side and read as one wide picture.
- **Ōban.** The standard large Japanese print size, about 38 × 25 cm.

### [Kobayashi Kiyochika](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/kobayashi-kiyochika)

Japanese, 1847–1915

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Culture: Japan
- The artist was 49
- Real size: about 15 × 10 in (37 × 25 cm). The 11 × 14 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Ukiyo-e](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/ukiyo-e)
- Subjects: Japanese (culture or style)
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/330.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/330/1920.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; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

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/sei-shonagon-from-the-series-ancient-patterns-kodai-moyo-aic-150411).