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

KUNISADA I/TOYOKUNI III (1786-1865)

Actors in role. 10/1858

Category

Japanese | Actors And Kabuki

Publisher

oban diptych, 53.0 cm × 36.0 cm

Very good impression, colour and condition.

The actors Ichikawa Ebizō V as Saimyōji Tokiyori, Asao Yoroku II as Izumobo and Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Umashi Toroku in a Kabuki adaptation of the drama "The Potted Trees". Lord Kamakura (Saimyōji Tokiyori) travels his lands disguised as a priest and seeks to reinstate the mistreated lord, Sano Ganzaemon, with the legitimate repossession of his stolen lands. Saimyōji Tokiyori clutches a chest and his rosary beads by a fire. His servant Izumobo is wearing kneepads from chopping the wood to kindle the fire, the sub-zero temperatures evident from their frozen noses.

Signed Toyokuni ga. 

£380

KUNISADA I/TOYOKUNI III (1786-1865)

Fukagawa Iyo setsu. 1855

Category

Japanese | 20th Century

Publisher

Iseba Magobei

chuban, 29.5 cm × 23.0 cm

Excellent impression with splashed gofun to imitate snow. Pristine colour. One small wormhole, expertly restored, otherwise very good condition.

Fukagawa Iyo setsu. Iyo Province; Time in Fukagawa. An uncut fan print depicting a snow scene and a beauty clutching her hair pin. Dated third month, 1855. Another copy of this fan print is at the Ukiyo-e Museum, Matsumoto, Japan. Illustrated on Pg 221 of 'Japanese Woodblock Prints' by Andreas Marks.

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KUNISADA I/TOYOKUNI III (1786-1865)

Sudden Shower on the Way Home from the Fuji Festival (Fuji kaeri no yûdachi). 1827.

Category

Japanese | 20th Century

Series

Contest of Present-day Beauties (Tôsei bijin awase)

Publisher

Moritaya Hanzô

we, 26.0 cm × 38.0 cm

Very good impression. Very good colour, slight turning to the purple. Imperceptible centre fold (only light au verso) otherwise very good condition.

A beauty dashes home after the Fuji festival, during a sudden evening rainstorm, the wind battering her paper umbrella. The straw snake in the inset is a souvenir of the Fuji Festival celebrating the annual opening of Mount Fuji to pilgrims on the first day of the sixth month. Residents of Edo visited mounds representing Fuji in locations such as Asakusa or Komagome. Published in 1827. Signed Gototei Kunisada ga, with Kiwame censor’s seal. Another impression can be located in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. 

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KUNISADA I/TOYOKUNI III (1786-1865)

Seki Sanjoro III as Chojiya Chobei. 1860

Category

Japanese | 20th Century

Series

Mirrors for Collage Pictures in the Modern Style

Publisher

Fujiokaya Keijiro.

Blockcutter

Hori Take.

oban, 27.5 cm × 39.5 cm

Excellent deluxe impression with lacquer, embossing and printed on thick hosho. Pristine colour and excellent condition. Full size.

The actor Seki Sanjuro III as Chojiya Chobei, from the series Mirrors for Collage Pictures in the Modern Style (Imayô oshi-e kagami). Dated 1/1860.

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