Description
In Women Preparing Sashimi, a seated woman grates white radish over a tray while another woman stands behind her in a dark robe. Kitagawa Utamaro makes preparing food the center of a close domestic encounter. The foreground worker’s activity gives the scene its practical focus, while the second figure connects the task to a relationship within the household.
The Met identifies the women as mother and daughter preparing sashimi and dates this woodblock print to around 1798–99. Made in ink and color on paper, the image brings attention to a stage before the meal, when separate ingredients are being made ready. Utamaro finds visual interest in familiar labor, allowing a modest action to carry the scene’s human character. The result gives preparation its own significance rather than treating it as merely a prelude.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Kitagawa Utamaro collection.
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