
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Japanese, 1797–1861
Splendid View at Futamigaura Bay, 1854
Center print from a triptych of color woodblock prints
36.6 × 25.3 cm (14 ½ × 10 in.)
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Gift of Mrs. Ralph King
This is one of three prints forming a continuous scene of figures visiting Futamigaura Bay near Ise Grand Shrine, one of Japan’s most sacred places. In the background, the sun rises between the “Wedded Rocks” joined by a twisted rope, called a shimenawa, used to designate a sanctified space. The rocks mark the entrance to Futami Okitama Shrine and are said to be embodiments of Izanagi and Izanami, the gods who, according to myth, created Japan. Futamigaura was a place where pilgrims purified themselves before visiting Ise and often lodged afterward.
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