Kiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana Komachi

Kiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana Komachi

Kitagawa Utamaro

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this print a woman plays mekakushi, blindman’s buff, with two children. She observes the pair through a screen equipped with a sliding paper door. It frames her image to create a picture within a picture that resembles the Japanese portraits of beautiful women known as bijin-e. Admired women were sometimes called Komachi, as in the title, after an ancient poet celebrated for both her literary prowess and her physical beauty. The screen also accentuates the separation between the children, absorbed in the excitement of the game itself, and the woman observing them

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana KomachiKiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana KomachiKiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana KomachiKiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana KomachiKiyomizu Komachi, from the series Futabagusa nana Komachi

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.