Carp c. 1830 - 1844

Katsushika Taito II created this woodblock print of a carp sometime between 1810 and 1853 in Japan. In this period, Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal military dictatorship that enforced a strict social hierarchy. The image of the carp swimming upstream against the current connects to the social structure of the Edo period, where it became a symbol of perseverance, strength, and success in overcoming obstacles. It embodies the aspirations of the lower classes to rise above their circumstances in a rigid society. Woodblock prints like these were popular among the merchant classes of the time. The prints offered a means of self-expression and cultural participation at a time when the arts were still heavily controlled by the state. It is only through understanding Japanese social history that we can appreciate how popular art forms reflected the tensions between tradition and change. Researching the history of the Tokugawa shogunate helps reveal the nuances of the art.