Portrait of Kinokuniya Bunzaemon (early 1800s): Art, History and Details

Portrait of Kinokuniya Bunzaemon (early 1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese, 1769–1825).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Kinokuniya Bunzaemon was one of Edo’s first millionaire merchants. He made his fortune selling lumber, a lucrative and expanding business in Edo that was often ravaged by fire. Well known for his extravagance, he entertained lavishly and was a generous patron of the theater. He was said once to have set gold and lacquer cups afloat on the Sumida River to amuse people downstream. This painting may be an imaginary portrait, as Kinokuniya Bunzaemon died in 1734—35 years before the artist Toyokuni was born. A patron of the entertainment district and a gourmand, Kinokuniya probably enjoys a New Year’s meal including sushi served on blue-and-white porcelain. The square, tiered box was typically used for serving food for the New Year.

Object facts

• Title: Portrait of Kinokuniya Bunzaemon
• Date: early 1800s
• Creator attribution: Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese, 1769–1825)
• Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
• Dimensions: Overall: 136.6 x 31.5 cm (53 3/4 x 12 3/8 in.); Within painted borders: 89 x 27.3 cm (35 1/16 x 10 3/4 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1985.276

Collection credit

The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith

Further reading listed by the museum

• “Checklist of the Kelvin Smith Bequest.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 7 (September 1988): 292–295.
• Jenkins, Donald. “Paintings of the Floating World.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 7 (September 1988): 244–260, 262–278, 238.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.