Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)
Signed: Kunisada ga (國貞画) in a red toshidama cartouche
Date-aratame seal: 1826 — Year of the Dog (inu, 戌) Bunsei 9 + Aratame (改)
Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1815 – 1869); seal: san (三) in a circle
Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), colour woodblock print, 227 x 270 mm
Description: Half-length portrait of a woman, in 3/4 facing right, wiping her neck with a cotton hand towel (手拭い, tenugui) decorated with a simple blue dotted pattern. She wears a red and black checked outer robe with a black collar over a red underlayer and a purple collar. A white obi with floral and pine needle motifs is visible. Her coiffure includes a red comb and decorative hairpins. The tenugui depicted was a versatile item in the Edo period, used as a souvenir, wrapper, or headband. Although originally made of silk, a shift to cotton occurred during the Tenpō era (1830–1844), following sumptuary laws that banned luxury materials. The upper right side of the background features a black fabric bearing a red design of two dragons encircling the kanji 大當 (ōatari, using the older form of 当), meaning "great success". The remaining background shows stylized iris flowers (菖蒲, shōbu) set against a wavy blue ground.
This uchiwa-e likely forms a series with SVJP-0527.2026 and SVJP-0531.2026, based on the identical artist’s signature cartouche, censor seal/date, and publisher’s mark.
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| SVJP-0527.2026 – Woman with wisteria bonsai | SVJP-0531.2026 – Woman with koto picks | SVJP-0486.2025 – Woman with a hand towel |
Additional Information
| Collection | Fan print (Uchiwa-e) [団扇絵] , Japanese prints and drawings |
|---|---|
| Type / Purpose | Fan , Woodblock print |
| Period | 19 AD , Bunsei era [文政] (1818–1830) , 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 |
| Genre | Beauty Prints (Bijin-ga, 美人画) |
| Subject | 19th century , Beautiful woman (bijin-ga) , Beauty , Edo period , Fan , Fan print , Great Success (大當, ōatari) , Iris , Japan , Japanese woodblock prints , Success , Textile , Uchiwa-e , Woman , Young woman |
| Creation / Publishing year | 1826 , Bunsei 9 |
| Acquisition year | 2025 |
