Artist: Toyohara Kunichika (豊原国周, 1835–1900), a.k.a. Arakawa Yasohachi (荒川 八十八) Studio gō (signature): 華蝶楼 (Kachōrō) Publisher:Unidentified; Kyū (久) (Marks 07-023 | U176a; active c. 1851–1861) Date: 1858 (Ansei 5; kiwame-date seal: II–XII/1858) Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and colour on paper; uchiwa-e (fan print) Dimensions: (1) 227 × 297 mm; (2) 236 × 297 mm Genre: Noh Theatre
Description:
A Noh dancer stands at left, wearing a green patterned robe over red undergarments and holding a folded fan. At right, three seated high-ranking male figures face the dancer, dressed in formal attire with tall eboshi caps. Their garments are decorated with the kuyō (nine-star) crest, a warrior emblem most strongly associated with the Hōjō clan, particularly the Later Hōjō of the Sengoku period, and widely used in Edo-period imagery as a marker of daimyō authority. One figure holds a military fan (gunbai), while the others hold folding fans.
– Red seal: According to Horst Graebner, the seal reads Chanobu [茶信]. Roger Keyes (American, 1942–2020), who used to own these prints, read the seal as Hidenobu [秀信], which is a definite mistake.
– Signature: According to the Waseda database, Toyohara Kunichika signed his works Kachōrō, Ichiō (一鶯), Ichiōsai (一鶯斎), Kunichika (国周), Ōsai (鶯斎), Yasohachi (八十八).
Observations on two states
Two impressions of the same design are preserved, corresponding to two states.
State I (earlier state): The red personal seal is absent. The garments of the three seated figures at right display different crest patterns from those seen in the later state; the kuyō (nine-star) crests are not present, and the textile motifs vary in arrangement and form. The lower edge of the print is continuous and rounded, without the notch or indentation at the bottom that corresponds to the fan's handle opening, in the later state. Colour tones are softer and less saturated, consistent with vegetable dyes.
- Printed with vegetable dyes
- Softer, lower-saturation palette
- Lighter blues and greens
- Gentle background gradation
- Crisp linework and careful registration
State II (later state)
- Printed with aniline dyes
- Stronger colour saturation, especially blues and reds
- Darker, heavier background gradation
- Slight loss of clarity in outlines and patterns
Additional Information
| Collection | Fan print (Uchiwa-e) [団扇絵] , Japanese prints and drawings |
|---|---|
| Type / Purpose | Fan , Woodblock print |
| Period | 19 AD , Ansei era [安政] (1854–1860) , Edo period [江戸時代] (1603–1868) , Mid-19th century |
| Country | Japan |
| Media/Technique | Ink and color on paper , Woodblock print (nishiki-e) |
| Size | Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e , Fan print. Uchiwa-e |
| Subject | Fan , Fan print , Japanese woodblock prints , Noh (能, Nō) , Noh theatre , Uchiwa-e |
| Genre | Theatre |
| Creation / Publishing year | 1858 , Ansei 5 |
| Acquisition year | 2025 |
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