Collection: Utamaro: Women Engaged in the Sericulture Industry

Twelve woodblock prints by Kitagawa Utamaro, c. 1798–1800, following women through the work of making silk, from brushing the newly hatched silkworms into trays to weaving the finished cloth. Hung side by side in order, the twelve sheets join into one continuous picture. Each is printed on a slim canvas, 30.5 × 50.8 cm (12 × 20"), and the picture continues round the sides. The right-hand side carries the sheet's title and, where the print has one, our English translation of its inscription. Reproduced from the impressions in the Art Institute of Chicago.