The Jewel River at Chōfu (Chōfu no Tamagawa)

Suzuki Harunobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tatsukuri (or Tetsukuri), in the Musashi area west of modern Tokyo known as Chōfu, is a famous place for bleaching cloth. The woman here is rinsing cloth in the shoals of the river but looks almost as if dancing with the waving cloth. Use of the technique of embossing subtly reveals the cloth's thickness. The poem by Fujiwara Teika in the square reads: Tamagawa at Chōfu by Teika The cloth that is hung over the fence for bleaching catches the morning dew at the village of Tamagawa. (trans. by Miyeko Murase)

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art