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『東京築地舶来ぜんまい大仕かけきぬ糸をとる図』|Imported Silk Reeling Machine at Tsukiji in Tokyo

Utagawa Yoshitora

ink

paper

From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Impressionism Realism Classical Antiquity Interior Industry Working

Dominant colour

『東京築地舶来ぜんまい大仕かけきぬ糸をとる図』|Imported Silk Reeling Machine at Tsukiji in Tokyo is a 4 ink by Utagawa Yoshitora, a Impressionism work, depicting Industry, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Utagawa Yoshitora
When & what style?: 4 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Metropolitan Museum of Art

About this work

This print shows a busy workshop filled with people working around large machines. Women in colorful kimonos sit at long tables, turning wheels while others tend to bundles of thread. Men in dark clothes stand or crouch nearby, handling tools or baskets. The space has big windows with wooden frames, and the walls are marked with signs in Japanese. Outside, a brick wall and rooftops are visible. The machines look like early silk-reeling tools, a sign of new technology arriving in Japan. The scene mixes traditional clothing with modern equipment, showing daily life changing fast. Look up the subject: industry to see how art captured workplaces during big shifts in history.