This wonderful painting of a Japanese couple is a great source for a Historian to use if they are investigating the relationship status between a husband and wife. The painting of this Japanese couple in the Shoguate period was created by Kunisada II Utagawa. The date this painting was created is unknown but the year it was made was 1880. This paintings aimed audience are the people of today society or the future (from the year they painted the painting). The message this painting shows is how the relationship of a married couple was equal. The evidence shown is that they are both standing side by side not one if front of another. As the painting is split into three parts it shows the relationship in different areas. The first section of the painting is the husband and wife walking through the busy streets of Japan, it shows the husband guiding the wife through the streets. The second section of the painting is the husband and wife holding hands while walking. As well as the husband and wife being together they also have a child who is riding on the father’s back. The final section of the painting is the couple walking together through the busy streets of Japan once again. The aim of this painting is to show us what it was like for a couple back in the Shogunate period. This painting is a secondary source, (source is shown below on the left). A technique this painting uses is lots of reoccuring colours such as blue’s and red’s. This is effective as it shows the simplicity’s of Japan many years ago. Another thing this painting does is uses family, this gives us the illusion that family was important and that they genuinely loved their families. In conclusion this painting would be an excellent source for a historian to use if they were trying to see how a husband and wife’s relationship worked, in the Shogunate period, as the painting demonstrates that the relationship had equal power.
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