# Young man and his party crossing a stream before Mt. Fuji

**Kitagawa Utamaro** (Japanese, c.1753–1806)  
c. 1798/1800  
Color woodblock print; oban triptych  
Overall: 38.9 × 76 cm (15 3/8 × 29 15/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1937.192. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/23715).

## About this work

Kitagawa Utamaro designed this in about 1798/1800, aged about 40. 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.

### [Kitagawa Utamaro](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/kitagawa-utamaro)

Japanese, c.1753–1806

Utamaro trained with the painter Toriyama Sekien and rose to fame in the 1790s with the support of the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō. He is best known for his half-length portraits of women, the ōkubi-e or “large head” pictures, which give close attention to expression, gesture and the texture of hair and fabric. He also produced finely observed books of insects, shells and birds. In 1804 he was punished by the authorities for designs depicting the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Culture: Japan
- The artist was about 40
- Real size: about 15 × 30 in (38 × 76 cm). The 20 × 30 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 18th century
- Movement: [Ukiyo-e](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/ukiyo-e)
- Subjects: Japanese (culture or style)
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/99.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/99/1920.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/young-man-and-his-party-crossing-a-stream-before-mt-fuji-aic-23715).