The Kitchen of a Joroya. 1670 - 1690

Editor: We are looking at “The Kitchen of a Joroya” from 1670-1690 by Hishikawa Moronobu, currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s a woodblock print, a type of ukiyo-e. It gives us a glimpse into daily life. How would you interpret this piece? Curator: Let's consider this image through its materials and the processes that created it. This isn't just a picture; it’s a printed commodity produced via skilled labor. Ukiyo-e prints were mass-produced for consumption by a broad audience, not just the elite. Do you see how this challenges the typical view of art as solely a product of individual genius? Editor: So you’re saying its value isn't just aesthetic, but also lies in its accessibility and role in society? It is a depiction of everyday working conditions for these women. Curator: Exactly. Look at the tools depicted – the tubs, the cleaning implements. These are not merely props. They speak to the physical labor and social structures involved in running what we understand today as brothels. The woodblock printing itself democratizes this image. How do you think the act of making prints informs their subject matter? Editor: That's fascinating. It is as though by printing these scenes, the artists offer a glimpse into a world both desired and potentially exploited. The printing enables this depiction to circulate widely. It's no longer a hidden reality, is it? Curator: Precisely. We should always consider the process by which the piece comes to existence. Editor: Thank you for shedding a different light on it! I definitely see it as more of a statement piece now, on a certain part of their society’s work, class and gender. Curator: My pleasure. Recognizing that even something as seemingly simple as a print holds immense value on materiality transforms how we perceive not only this work, but also its whole epoch.