Evening Rain at Nihonzutsumi (Nihonzutsumi no yau), from the series "Eight Fashionable Views of Edo (Furyu Edo hakkei)" c. 1768 - 1769

Suzuki Harunobu created this woodblock print, Evening Rain at Nihonzutsumi, as part of a series of "Eight Fashionable Views of Edo" sometime in the mid-18th century. Consider the term "fashionable views." This was a moment in Japan's Edo period where urban culture was flourishing, and woodblock prints played a key role in disseminating images of fashionable life. This print reflects a self-conscious interest in contemporary life, and the ways in which social status and style were being expressed and consumed. The image shows two women, likely a mother and daughter, inside a home, looking out at people walking along a distant embankment. The poetry inscribed on the print, combined with the scene, evokes a mood of quiet contemplation in the evening. To fully understand this, the historian might consult diaries, literature, and other visual materials from the Edo period to better understand this relationship between poetry, image, and lived experience. Ultimately, this artwork reminds us that meaning is found through historical context.