Lady Tokiwa Fleeing with Children c. 1850s

"Lady Tokiwa Fleeing with Children" is a woodblock print by Utagawa Kunitsugu, a Japanese artist active in the mid-19th century. The artwork depicts a woman, Lady Tokiwa, fleeing with her two children, their figures dramatically silhouetted against a snow-covered landscape. The artist captures the urgency of their flight through the dynamic lines of the flowing fabric and the expressive gestures of the figures. The print's detailed depiction of the snow-covered trees and the swirling snowflakes create a sense of both beauty and danger, reflecting the perilous journey of the woman and her children. This work exemplifies the genre of *ukiyo-e* printmaking, which thrived during the Edo period in Japan and often depicted scenes from popular literature and folklore.