Title: Fan Pictures by Kuniyoshi: Cats, Kabuki Actors, and Girls (Kuniyoshi no uchiwa-e: neko to kabuki to chyakyachyaki musume, 国芳の団扇絵 猫と歌舞伎とチャキチャキ娘)
Title-page (blue, vertical): [vignette of a fan] / 国芳の団扇絵 | 猫と歌舞伎とチャキチャキ娘
Author/Editor/Publisher: Ōta Memorial Museum of Art [太田記念美術館]
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 国芳] (Japanese, 1798–1861)
Place of Publication: Tokyo, Japan
Date: July 21, 2012 (２０１２年７月２１日 発行)
Language: Japanese
Description: Softcover, 300 × 225 mm, pictorial wrappers, yellow endpapers, illustrated throughout in full colour; pp. [1–3] 4–191 [1].
Note: The exhibition catalogue illustrates Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s uchiwa-e (fan prints), with thematic sections on kabuki actors, beauties, and cats. Includes curatorial commentary, a bibliography, and a complete provisional catalogue of works.
Contents:
- Introduction (ごあいさつ) – p. 2
- On Kuniyoshi’s Fan Prints (歌川国芳の団扇絵について) – p. 4
- Chapter 1: Theater Pictures and Various Themes (戯画とさまざまな題材) – p. 17
- Chapter 2: Actor Prints (役者絵) – p. 49
- Chapter 3: Beauties (美人画) – p. 75
- Commentary on Works (作品解説) – p. 146
- References (主要参考文献) – p. 174
- Catalogue of Kuniyoshi’s Fan Prints [Provisional] (歌川国芳団扇絵作品目録 [未定稿]) – p. 175
Fan prints in this collection:
110. 蜻蛉を見る美人 (Tongo o miru bijin, Beauty Watching a Dragonfly). Tenpō 13 (1842). …the publisher’s mark of Maruya Jinpachi is present, suggesting it was produced after the Tenpō Reforms when publisher and censor seals were temporarily abolished. [SVJP-0398.2023]
121. 奉納手拭 (Hōnō tenugui, Dedication Hand Towel, or Votive Towel). Tenpō 14 to Kōka 1 (1843–44). The image shows a hōnō tejime — a cloth used in ceremonial dedications — displayed at the top of the composition, as seen in temples and shrines. The names of donors are often written on such clothes. The signature and seal used by Kuniyoshi here include “Kuniyoshi” and “Ichiyūsai,” names often found on works from the early Kōka era. According to Iwakiri Yuriko, this mark signals the beginning of Kuniyoshi’s use of the “Ichiyūsai” signature, which began around the second half of the first year of Kōka (1844). This example is considered an early piece using that seal. [SVJP-0414.2023]
208. 踊り (Odori, Dance). Ansei 1 (1854), 4th month. Publisher: Ibayakyū Senjirō. The print depicts two women in identical outfits adorned with the character for “quiet” (shizu) — possibly referencing the Ninin Shizuka (“Two Shizuka”) dance from kabuki or nō theatre. Though the figures are nearly identical, subtle differences in hair ornaments can be observed. While the exact identity of the scene remains uncertain, it clearly represents a paired female dance, possibly inspired by traditional songs or performances. [SVJP-0455.2025]
