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SHINSUI Itō (1898-1972)
Face Powder. 1923.
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Series
- New Twelve Images of Modern Beauties
- Publisher
- Shōzaburō Watanabe. First edition 6/200
dai ōban tate-e, 25.6 cm × 43.3 cm
Excellent impression with mica ground and gauffrage on the towel. Very good colour and condition. A rare pre-Earthquake bijin-e.
Shinsui specialised in pictures of beautiful women (bijin-ga) and he became one of the most prolific designers in this genre. The female figure is depicted semi-naked, clutching a jar of face powder. The shimmering blue mica background (highlighted in the picture) draws attention to the figure's pale white flesh and creates the illusion of a steamy spa.
Signed Shinsui ga with Shinsui seal. Watanabe 6mm A seal (Pre earthquake 1918-1924) Edition 6/200 printed verso. Nihyaku mai kagiri zeppan, dai roku ban (200 limited edition, number 6).
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SHINSUI Itō (1898-1972)
Firefly (Hotaru). 6/1934.
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Series
- The Second Series of Modern Beauties (Gendai bijinshu dai-nishu)
- Publisher
- Shōzaburō Watanabe. Ed. 115/250
dai ōban tate-e, 28.4 cm × 44.0 cm
Excellent impression, colour and condition.
A beautiful woman, wearing a light summer yukata, catches a firefly with her uchiwa fan. Fireflies are ephemeral creatrues. They emerge from their crysallis in June and viewing the fireflies' glow on a summer's evening has always been a popular pastime in Japan (Hotaru-gari).
Signed Shinsui ga with artist's seal Shinsui. Dated Showa kyunen rokugatsu (Showa 9 [1934], June with Watanabe C 'sausage seal (1929-1942) in right margin. Numbered on verso 115/250.
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Torii Kotondo 1900-1976
Combing the Hair
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Publisher
- Sawai and Kawaguchi
- Blockcutter
- hori ito, suri komatsu
Dai Oban, 29.4 cm × 46.0 cm
Very good impression, colour and condition. Very minimal toning au verso.
A crouching beauty combs her hair, amidst the swirling blue steam that envelops her naked body, beautifully rendered with a subtle pink outline. Published circa 1930 solely by Kawaguchi, after his split from Sawai. Signed Kotondo saku, with artist's seal Kotondo. Dated Showa yonen jugatsu (Showa 4 (1929), 10th month), title Kamisuki embossed within the bottom margin, publisher's seal Kawaguchi embossed at lower right edge, and hori Ito suri, Komatsu, hanken shoyu (carved by Ito, printed by Komatsu, copyright) at lower left. Embossed limited edition seal hand-numbered on verso, San-hyaku mai kagiri zeppan, dai nijusan go, 23/300
£3750
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EISHI Hosoda (1756-1829)
Fukurokuju. 1795.
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Series
- Fukujin takara awase.
- Publisher
- Nishimuraya Yohachi.
oban tate-e, 25.0 cm × 39.0 cm
Excellent impression and good colour with slight fading to the yellow ground. Good condition with minor soil. Large sheet.
A beauty is likened to Fukurokuji, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune in Japanese mythology. His emblems are represented here by the staff (to which his sacred book is tied) and the crane, a symbol of longevity. The girl raises her sleeve to conceal her emotions, a common device in beauty prints. The series title 'Comparison of the Treasures of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune' is written on the hand scroll, along with makimono (scholars scrolls), one of the traditional takaramono (myriad treasures) associated with the gods. Signed Eishi ga
£2650
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UTAMARO II (d.1831)
The Courtesan Shigeoka of the Okamoto-ya. c.1810-20
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Publisher
- Izumi-ya Ichibei
oban tate-e, 26.5 cm × 38.1 cm
Good impression, fresh colour. Surface soil, marks, rubbing (publisher mark) and tiny, expert edge-repair lower right corner, otherwise good condition. S.M Shiba dealer seal au verso.
The courtesan Shigeoka of the Okamoto-ya brothel stretches out her arms to display a magnificent kimono, decorated with plovers taking flight over a meandering stream. The kimono was the courtesans prized possession, and a source of great rivalry within the trade. Stories abound of courtesans attempting to usurp one another with originality in design.
For another impression see Museum Volkenkunde Leiden.
£1300
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KUNISADA I/TOYOKUNI III (1786-1865)
Kiritsubo. 2/1858.
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Series
- Genji goshû yojô.
- Publisher
- Sakanaya Eikichi.
- Blockcutter
- Yokogawa Takejirô.
ôban tate-e, 25.6 cm × 37.4 cm
Excellent impression, with karazuri (blind printing) and excellent colour. Tiny paper nick lower left side (possibly intrinsic), otherwise very good condition. The left panel of a diptych.
Sugibae carries a kimono for her mistress Hanagiri, the shogun's favourite concubine. Hanagiri soiled the hem of her robe while inadvertently stepping in fish intestines which had been scattered in her path by spiteful rivals at court. As Sugibae scampers away with the dirty dress, she lights her path with a tetoro hand lantern to avoid the fish guts.
This print is from Kunisada's series "Lasting Impressions of a Late Genji Collection", illustrating Ryûtei Tanehiko's A Fake Murasaki, transposing the 11th century classic novel "A Tale of Genji" into the contemporaneous culture of mid-19th century Edo. Signed Toyokuni ga.
£380
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EISEN Keisai. (1790-1848)
Yokkaichi: Hanazono of the Miu-raya. c.1821
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Series
- Tôkaidô Board Game of Courtesans. Keisei dôchû sugoroku.
- Publisher
- Tsutaya Kichizo (Koeido)
oban tate-e, 25.1 cm × 37.1 cm
Excellent impression and colour. Some soil along the right side and trimmed, otherwise very good condition.
The courtesan, Hanazono of the Miu-raya, clutches a wad of paper tissues (kaishi) tucked into her obi while admiring a white orchid in a wall basket. The series (A Traveling Game with Yoshiwara Courtesans Matched with the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido) is a mitate, an unexpected juxtaposition, in which famous courtesans are paralleled with a station from the Tokaido road. The inset shows Yokkachi, the forty-third post en route from Edo to Kyoto.
Signed Keisai Eisen ga with 'kiwame' seal.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts Impression.
£1250
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Keigetsu Kikuchi
The Heroine Koharu. c.1923.
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Series
- Dai Chikamatsu Zenshu.
- Publisher
- Nishimura Komakichi
- Engraver
- Yamagishi Kazue.
large dai-oban, 28.8 cm × 43.0 cm
Very good impression, embellished with silver. Very good colour and condition.
A tragic story of unrequited love, with the double suicide (shinju) of Kamiya Jihei, a paper merchant and Kinokuniya Koharu, a courtesan from the Kita-Shinchi pleasure quarter. The pull between obligation (giri) and the emotions of unrequited love (ninjo) would provide a theatrical pathos on the Kabuki stage. Koharu, holding a pipe, muses over her predicament. Her true love to the married Jihei can only be realised through death and subsequent Buddhist re-incarnation.
Signed Keigetsu. ref: Page 94 Newland, Amy R.; and S. Hamanaka, "The Female Image: 20th Century Prints of Japanese Beauties", Leiden: Hotei, 2000
£480
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Toyokuni III/Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1864)
The Fireflies. Chapter No.25.
- Category
- Japanese | Beauties
- Series
- Lasting Impressions of a Late Genji Collection.
- Publisher
- Wakasaya Yoichi.
- Blockcutter
- Suguwa Sennosuke.
Oban tate-e, 26.4 cm × 38.0 cm
Superb impression and colour. A very small bleed of the red around the cartouche, otherwise very good condition. Full size sheet.
The left sheet of the diptych from Chapter No.25 “The Fireflies. Hotaru” from the series, Genji goshû yojô. The series illustrates scenes loosely based on A Rustic Genji and A Related Rustic Village. The prints were luxuriously produced on thick paper, with fine bokashi, burnishing and blind printing, as evident in this example. Signed Toyokuni ga, with publisher’s seal
£190