Painting of Gion Teahouse

Ike no Taiga

Mid-Edo Period (18th century)

Donated by Homma Toshio (Souzan Collection)

The scenery portrayed here focuses on Matsuya, a teahouse on the grounds of Kyoto’s Yasaka Shrine. The shrine is part of the Gion sect. The Matsuya teahouse was run by the family of Ike Gyokuran, the wife of Ike no Taiga (1723-1776). Management of the establishment was passed down three generations from parent to child through her grandmother Kaji, mother Yuri, and onto Gyokuran herself. This painting was in the possession of Taiga’s disciple Aoki Shukuya (? – 1802), also known as Taigadō II.