Daimyo's Son Viewing the Sumida River 

Curator: This is Utagawa Kuninaga's woodblock print, "Daimyo's Son Viewing the Sumida River," held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It has a very staged, almost theatrical feel. Everyone's gazing intensely at something beyond the bamboo blinds, creating this anticipatory mood. Curator: Yes, Kuninaga masterfully uses these vertical bamboo lines to structure the composition, segmenting the interior from the exterior view. The repetition draws your eye. Editor: I'm intrigued by the gender dynamics at play. The presence of a sword on a figure holding a musical instrument is really interesting. I wonder if the artist is commenting on the traditional roles versus lived realities of women and power? Curator: It is a work full of contrasts, both aesthetically and conceptually. Thank you for pointing that out. Editor: Thank you. Considering it more deeply makes me want to explore the period and its complex societal layers.