Utagawa Kunisada. Komachi Praying for Rain (Ame kōi Komachi), from the series Fashionable Matching Pictures (Fūryū ekyōdai) / Fan print, 1838.
雨乞ひ小町 / 風流絵兄弟
Color woodblock print for a rigid fan (uchiwa-e), 210 × 277 mm. One of a series of six prints; each design pairs a contemporary genre scene with a historical episode depicted in an inset cartouche.
Foreground. Young woman with unblackened teeth, holding a letter (presumably a love letter) in her left hand; brown overgarment with clouds and cherry blossom motifs; orange checkered obi with blue flowers and arabesque (唐草, karakusa) pattern; collar in key-fret pattern (紗綾形, sayagata). Hair dressed in a formal coiffure with a tortoiseshell comb and kanzashi (簪) adorned with woven basket decoration. She holds a large blue umbrella (kasa, 傘) with pasted-on woodblock prints bearing fictitious signatures. Boy seated to the right in a white robe with brown butterfly motifs and a blue-green neck cloth. The main scene alludes to the legendary episode of Ono no Komachi praying for rain (amagoi, 雨乞い) in summer heat.
Background. River landscape; stone lanterns (石灯籠, ishidōrō), buildings, and trees on the far bank. Lower portion of composition framed by cloud-shaped reserve in pink with red geometric motifs — squares, triangles, and lozenges of varying sizes.
Cartouche (upper right). Blue ground; scene depicting Ono no Komachi (小野小町) performing rain prayer (amagoi, 雨乞い) in a storm, holding a votive prayer tablet; umbrella raised; series title 風流絵兄弟 inscribed adjacent.
Inscriptions. Right: Artist's signature: 香朝樓國貞画 (Kōchōrō Kunisada ga), partially trimmed; date seal dog year (戌, 1838); censor seal kiwame (極). Left: Publisher's mark 十 (Kojimaya Jūbei).
Binding holes along the left margin.
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SVJP-0552 草ずり引 Kusazuribiki |
SVJP-0553 Fushimi Tokiwa ふしみ常盤 |
SVJP-0554 Ame kōi Komachi 雨乞ひ小町) |
SVJP-0555 Minamoto Yoriyoshi 源より義 |
SVJP-0556 Tadanori 忠のり |
ka14824 Murasakishikibu at Ishiyamadera 紫式部石山寺 |
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Additional Information
| Collection | Fan print (Uchiwa-e) [団扇絵] , Japanese prints and drawings |
|---|---|
| Type / Purpose | Fan , Woodblock print |
| Period | 19 AD , Edo period [江戸時代] (1603–1868) , Mid-19th century , Tenpō era [天保] (1830–1844) |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Material | Washi |
| Media/Technique | Woodblock print (nishiki-e) |
| Size | Fan print. Uchiwa-e |
| Genre | Literary Prints , Parody and Allusive Prints (Mitate-e, 見立絵) |
| Subject | Boy , Child , Edo period , Fan print , Japan , Japanese woodblock prints , Legends , Mitate , Ono no Komachi [小野 小町] (Japanese, c.825 – c.900) , Rain , Rok'kasen [六歌仙] Six poetry immortals , Uchiwa-e , Ukiyo-e , Japanese legends , Heian period (平安時代, 794–1185) , Kokinshū (古今和歌集) , Seven Komachi (七小町, Nana Komachi) , Rainmaking rituals |
| Series | Fashionable Matching Pictures (風流絵兄弟, Fūryū ekyōdai) |
| School | Utagawa (歌川) |
| Signature | Kōchōrō Kunisada ga (香朝樓國貞画) |
| Creation / Publishing year | 1838 , Tenpō 9 (天保9年) |
| Acquisition year | 2026 |
