The exact provenance of Women in Seasons of Snow, Moon, and Flowers by Katsukawa Shunsho is not publicly documented. The painting is presently associated with the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Japan, where it appears in the museum’s digital and Google Art Project collections.
Katsukawa Shunsho was a leading painter and printmaker during the Edo-period who specialized in the ukiyo-e style. He came to Edo to study haiku, poetry, and painting under Miyagawa Shunsui. Shunsho was originally in the Torii School, but broke away to pursue a more individualistic and realistic style using which he established the Katsukawa School of Art. His name is connected to many other famous ukiyo-e artists such as Shuncho, Shunko, Shunei, and Shunro (Hokusai) who were indeed his students. The word "shun" connects these artists to the Katsukawa school. Shunsho is also famously known for developing the new form of yukusa-e. These were prints depicting Kabuki actors. A large number of his paintings still exist, majority of which portray beautiful women, known as bijin, in scenic views.
One such artwork is named as "Women in seasons of snow, moon, and flowers". Snow, moon, and flowers (setsu-getsu-ka or setsu-gekka) is a elegant Japanese expression and theme in art and design which emerged in the late Edo-period and is used as a metonym for enchanting scenic and natural elements. One similar thematic painting is done by Sakai Hoitsu named "Snow, Moon, Flowers". This expression emerged from a poem by the Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi. This combination of three themes usually refers to the three seasons of a year: snow refers to Winter, moon refers to Autumn, and flowers refer to Spring. Ukiyo-e artists, like Shunsho, preferred to sell hanging scrolls in a series of three which depicted women, or combined a landscape. In this threefold painting scroll three women are seen in various ways. From left to right we have Sei Shonagon (winter), Murasaki Shikibu (autumn), and Ono no Kamochi (spring). These women were authors, novelist, poets, court lady, and even lady-in-waiting during the Heian era. Having authored famous manuscripts like The Pillow Book, The Tale of Genji, or being one of the best six waka poets (Rokkasen), respectively, these women were no ordinary beings devoid of fame and historical significance.
Katsukawa likely chose these remarkable women due to their idealization of feminine elegance, literary refinement, beauty, and seasonal emotion in Japanese culture. Each women embodies not only a season, but a different emotional, historical, and cultural background.
This painting moves me as we see these women who are symbols of power and elegance in the artistic world. The representation of women in the Edo-period of art seems to bring the mind at peace, as one looks for when visiting a museum or sitting by a riverside with nothing but the sound of water drifting by. It's beautiful and serene, and the touch of femininity adds to the calmness of this painting.
