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

Signed: Yōdō Gyokuei (楊堂玉英); seals: top: yō (楊), below ei (英)

Publisher: Enshūya Ichibei [遠州屋市兵衛] (Japanese, before 1875 – c. 1887), seal: Tokio; En’ichisei; Horiechō (東京; ゑん市制; 堀江町) to recto, Hori Ni, En’ichisei (堀二 遠市製) to verso.

Date: Meiji 21 (1888), no seal.

Media: Woodblock colour print, chūban uchiwa-e (fan print), double-sided, 235 × 249 mm

This double-side uchiwa-e was likely produced as a promotional fan, advertising the vessels and services of a Meiji-period shipping company.

A Western-style sidewheel steamship is sailing in coastal waters at sunrise. The vessel has two decks, with passengers visible on both levels. A red-and-white flag flies from the stern, and black smoke issues from the funnel. In the background, white sails are silhouetted against a vivid red sun rising over the sea — symbolizing a “new era.” Coastal land formations and rocks frame the horizon.

On the reverse, a decorative composition featuring the names of three newly commissioned ships written within ovals formed from anchor chains:

• 銚港丸 (Chōkō Maru)
• 銚子丸 (Chōshi Maru)
• 通運丸 (Tsūun Maru)

In February 1888 (Meiji 21), the Chōshi Steamship Company (銚子汽船会社) launched the Chōshi Maru into service on Lake Kitaura (北浦), operating it in rotation with the Tsūun Maru and Chōkō Maru. A large black anchor rests beneath the names, integrated into the chain motif. The background is a radiant horizontal gradient striped in red and green.

Both sides are dusted with mica.

Horst Graebner’s Note on Publisher’s Address Spelling:

ほりへ二 遠市製 (Horie Ni, En’ichi sei)

The address “Horie Ni” appears on the back of this print, but its spelling is unusual. Instead of the expected kanji 堀 (hori), it uses a rare hentaigana (variant kana) form for ほ. This character, shown below, resembles a stylized blend of cursive kana and kanji features:

This form does not exist in standard Unicode, so it must be represented with an image. It was once considered unreadable, with various hypotheses proposed. Alec Wood suggested it might be hiragana ふ, but further research confirmed it as a hentaigana for ほ.

This form appears on only 3 or 4 publisher seals among nearly 3,000 known examples. Despite its rarity, the full reading of the seal is now understood to be:

ほりへ二 遠市製
Horie Ni, En’ichi sei
(“Horie 2-chōme, Made by En’ichi”)

This address also aligns with the better-known 堀江町 (Horie-chō) in Tokyo, often used in the publisher’s standard seals.