Nabeta Gyokuei. Promotional Fan for Certified Lake Ice, late 19th century.

Artist: Nabeta Gyokuei [鍋田玉英] (Japanese, 1847 – after 1902)

Signed: Yōdō Gyokuei (楊堂玉英); seal: Gyokuei (玉英)

Block carver: hori kō Chō (木り工丁) [Name not listed in Gordon Friese, Hori-shi, 2009]

Publisher: Enshūya Ichibei [遠州屋市兵衛] (Japanese, before 1875 – c. 1887); seal: En'ichisei (ゑん市制)  [not in Marks]

Date: no seal, likely the end of the 19th century.

Media: Woodblock colour print, chūban uchiwa-e (fan print), double-sided, 235 x 247 mm

This double-side uchiwa-e was produced as a promotional item for the lake ice trade, pairing an elegant depiction of winter harvesting with a printed reproduction of a public health inspection certificate. The waka poem reinforces themes of purity and refreshment.

A winter mountain landscape depicting the harvesting of natural lake ice. Workers in blue clothing cut and carry large ice blocks across a frozen lake while others walk with loads suspended from poles. A storehouse with a thatched roof appears in the foreground. Bare deciduous trees and jagged peaks frame the scene. A waka poem is inscribed across the sky in flowing script:

名も高き
ところも清き
山の井の
氷を汲めば
心すずしき

[Renowned in name,
and pure is the place—
from a mountain spring,
when you draw ice,
your heart is cooled]

The poem praises the purity and spiritual refreshment of mountain ice. The poet’s signature and seal (upper left) remain unread.

On the reverse, there is a printed official text titled: 氷塊検査告示書写 (Copy of Ice Block Inspection Notice). Issued as No. 77, the notice certifies the safety and quality of a shipment of lake ice (標名湖氷). The report describes the ice as:

• Clear in color (色澄清)
• Tasteless (無味)
• Smooth/slippery (滑脱)
• Chemically neutral (中性)
• Suitable for food and beverage use (飲食用ニ適ス)

The examination was conducted by the Tokyo Sanitary Bureau Laboratory (東京衛生局試験所) in Kojimachi and is signed by:

• 田原良純 (Tahara Yoshizumi), Technical Officer, 7th Class
• 長田安四郎 (Nagata Yasushirō), Supervisor

Both sides are dusted with mica.