Set of Three, Love Birds in Three Kinds of Music (Sampukutsui hiyoku no san kyoku) c. 1748

Nishimura Shigenaga made this woodblock print, "Set of Three, Love Birds in Three Kinds of Music," in Japan during the Edo period. The print captures the leisured world of the merchant classes and the pleasure quarters that rose to prominence in that era. The image depicts three separate couples making music, each in their own way, in what looks like a domestic setting. Visually, the print creates meaning through a stylized representation of human figures and architectural space, common in ukiyo-e prints. Socially, it reflects the rising prosperity of urban centers like Edo, now Tokyo, where the merchant class had disposable income to spend on art, entertainment, and romantic pursuits. Understanding this print means looking at the social history of the Edo period, the economics of printmaking, and the artistic conventions that defined ukiyo-e as a distinct genre. This kind of research helps us understand the role of the artwork in its own time.