Other prints from the same series in this collection:
SVJP-0343.2021 — Tamagiku:
SVJP-0400.2023 — Saiko:
Note: Special thanks to Horst Graebner, who helped decipher and understand the meaning.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal: 彫竹 – hori Take. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 230 x 295 mm. Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: Ansei 6 (1859). Title: Princess Sotoori [衣通姫] (Sotoori-hime) – Sotoori-hime was a concubine of Emperor Ingyo (reigned AD 412-53), and one of the Three Gods of Japanese Poetry [和歌三神] (Waka sanjin). Series: Chronicles of Elegant Women [風雅女史傳] (Fūga joshiden). The sign on the torii (Shinto shrine gates) reads: Mountain king shrine [山王宮] – it is the Sannō Shrine at the Nagata Riding Grounds in Edo. A print with these gates is at MFA (Boston) # 21.9853.
Other prints from the same series in this collection:
SVJP-0343.2021 — Tamagiku:
SVJP-0400.2023 — Saiko:
Note: Special thanks to Horst Graebner, who helped decipher and understand the meaning.
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Artist: Utagawa Sadahide [歌川貞秀] (Japanese, 1807 – 1879). Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei [小島屋重兵衛] (Japanese, c. 1797 – 1869); seal: Marks #264, p. 210) Signed: Gyokuransai Sadahide ga [玉蘭斎貞秀 画]. Date seal: 1830 (Bunsei 13 / Tenpō 1). Size: Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e); 229 x 292 mm -
Artist: Utagawa Sadahide [歌川 貞秀], a.k.a. Gountei Sadahide [五雲亭 貞秀] (1807 – c. 1878/9). Signed: Gountei Sadahide ga [五雲亭貞秀画] Pubisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, 1815 – 1869) Date-aratame seal: Bunsei 13 / Tenpō 1 (1830). Ref: Ritsumeikan University # Z0172-587. Title: Tangled Hair and the Evening Braided Hat [乱髪夜編笠] (Midaregami Yoru no Amigasa). The open book starts with the chapter title that reads Amigasa. This play was performed together with Kisohajime Hatsugai Soga [着衣始]初買曽我]. See the playbill for the performance at Moritaza at MFA (Boston) № 11.27208. 乱髪夜編笠（みだれがみよるのあみがさ。「夜の編笠」「白さぎ」とも）– one of the main melodies in katōbushi (河東節) type of jōruri [浄瑠璃]. For a detailed explanation in Japanese, see also HERE). A series of three prints is dedicated to a katōbushi performance of the Soga-themed plays.
They all have a background of hail patterns (Arare-ko-mon) [霰小紋], similar to Kunisada’s Iwai Kumesaburō II as An no Heibei [SVJP-0304.2019], see below.Yukari no Edo-zakura The tatami night robe of Iwao Tangled Hair and the Evening Braided Hat 
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Actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII as Soga Goro Tokimune (one of the Soga brothers). Ichikawa Ebizô V held the name of Ichikawa Danjûrô VII from the 11th lunar month of 1800 to the 2nd lunar month of 1832. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) [歌川 国貞] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) Publisher: Uemura Yohei (Japanese, 1750 – 1832). Date: 1830 Size: Vertical ōban Signatures/Marks: Gototei Kunisada ga. Publisher's seal: Uemura Yohei. Censor's seal: Kiwame -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Artists signature: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche. Character: Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [七代目 市川 團十郎]; other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I (Japanese, 1791 – 1859). Series: Six choice modern flowers [當世六花撰] (Tosei rok’kasen). No publisher's seal, no date or censor's seal is present. Size: Fan print (aiban uchiwa-e); 232 x 289 mm. Provenance: Paul F. Walter. Izzard: "... six prints make up this set of fan prints, which compares contemporary artists with classic poets, in this case, Ichikawa Danjūrō VII with Ōtomo no Kuronushi [大友 黒主] (Japanese, dates unknown)". Rok'kasen [六歌仙] – six poetry immortals. According to Izzard, identification of the portrayed person is made possible by mimasu-mon [三升] on the robe, scrolling peony on the back of the mirror, and cloth decorated with the characters Yauan, one of the actor's poetry names, and other signs and symbols, including the inscription of the acter's guild name Naritaya. The absence of the publisher’s emblem and censorship seals may indicate that this was a privately issued print, not for public use. Ref: (1) [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 130-1, fig. 42). (2) Lyon Collection. Mimasu-mon, or Mitsumasu, is the Ichikawa Danjūrō family crest – three wooden measures, nested square boxes.
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Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e) with the design of kabuki actor Nakamura Utaemon IV who held the name of Nakamura Shikan II from the 11th lunar month of 1825 to the 12th lunar month of 1835, dressed in a checkered kimono, holding a pipe and surrounded by flying fireflies. Character: Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II, Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō. Series title: Catching fireflies in the floating world [浮世蛍狩] (Ukiyo hotarugari). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga [香蝶楼国貞画] in a red cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Kyubei [伊場屋 久兵衛] (Japanese, fl. 1804 – 1851); seal: modified Marks 19-009 | 126d. Censor's seal: Kiwame Date seal: Tenpō 2 (1831). Ref: Kunisada.de, N58. A look-alike yearlier Kunisada's design can be found at kunisada.de, ref. # N120-Z0172-410:
Actor Onoe Baikō, artist Kunisada, publisher Ibaya Kyūbei, c. 1820.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kōchō(rō) Kunisada ga (香蝶国貞画) in a red double-gourd cartouche. Publisher: Surugaya Sakujirō [駿河屋作次郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1844 – 1865); Marks 06-005 | 501a. Single nanushi censor seal: Muramatsu (1843-6). The date is attributed to c. 1844. Title: Narihira [なり平]. Ariwara no Narihira [在原 業平] (Japanese, 825 – 880) – one of the Six Immortal Poets – The Rokkasen [六歌仙]. Series: A parody of six immortal poets [見立六花撰] (Mitate Rokkasen). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 227 x 293 mm, depicting a beautiful woman with a bow and arrows in her left hand. Series: Mitate Rokkasen [見立六花撰] – is sometimes interpreted as "A parody of six immortal poets" or "A comparison of six select flowers". [LIB-1212.2017] Robert Schaap. Kunisada: Imaging, drama and beauty. — Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 2016; pl. 28, p. 58. This is another fan print with another immortal poet, Bun'ya no Yasuhide [文屋 康秀] (Japanese, -d. 885?), from the same series, provided in the book:With special thanks to Horst Graebner for help with the description and date attribution: "The print can be dated to 1844: censor seal is Muramatsu (Muramatsu Genroku); he acted in 7/1844 and 4/1845 (and also later) as censor but Kunisada changed his name to Kunisada early in 1844."
Robert Schaap, 2016.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, c. 1776 – 1862), seal Marks 21-216. Double nanushi censor’s seals: Hama & Magome (1849-53). Title: Wisteria in Kameido [亀戸乃藤] (Kameido no fuji). An uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), depicting a young woman coming down Taikobashi bridge at Kameido Tenjin Shrine. -
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 [国貞画] in a yellow double-gourd cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). Date aratame seal: Bunsei 13 – Tenpō 1 (1830). Actor: Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II [二代目中村芝翫], Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō. Play: Yoshitsune’s Letter at Koshigoe [義経腰越状] (Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo). Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e, 団 扇 絵), 229 x 267 mm, depicting kabuki actor Nakamura Shikan [中村芝翫] as Gotobei [五斗兵衛]. Nakamura Utaemon IV held the name of Nakamura Shikan II from the 11th lunar month of 1825 to the 1st lunar month of 1836. He was born as Hirano Kichitarō in Edo in 1796. Another fan print with the same subject in this collection [SVJP-0344.2021]:
"...The play Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was originally written for the puppet theatre (Bunraku) and staged for the first time in the 7th lunar month of 1754 in Ôsaka at the Toyotakeza. It was a revision of two early plays, Namiki Sōsuke's Nanbantetsu Gotō no Menuki (1735) and Yoshitsune Shin Fukumijō (1744). The title, which suggested that the play focused on Minamoto no Yoshitsune, was in fact dealing with the siege of the Ōsaka Castle, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu to destroy the Toyotomi clan in 1614 and 1615. This play was quickly forbidden because of the 4th act in which Gotobei's wife fired a gun at Yoritomo (this was of course interpreted as an attack on the Shogunate). Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was revised in 1770 by Toyotake Ōritsu, who completely rewrote the 4th act for a puppet production at the Kitahorieza in Ōsaka". Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jo was staged for the first time in Edo, at the Ichimuraza on the 9th lunar month of 1790, and is still performed.
Gotobei [五斗兵衛] (Gotohei or Gotobē), one of Yoshitsune’s loyal retainers, is forced to choose between his son’s life or his loyalty to Yoshitsune. Nishikidō brothers, who do not want Gotobei to become Yoshitsune's chief strategist, forced him to drink sake and get asleep. To prove Gotobei's military abilities, Izumi no Saburō fires a gun next to Gotobei's ear, and "he jumps up immediately, in full possession of his senses, ready to repulse any enemy". See: [LIB-1193.2013] Samuel L. Leiter. Kabuki Encyclopedia: An English-language adaptation of Kabuki Jiten. — Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press, 1979; pp. 266-7).
Ref: [LIB-2993.2022] Fig. 24 in Israel Goldman. Japanese prints and paintings / 40th anniversary; Catalogue 27, 2021.
Two more Kunisada's fan prints (in Paul Griffith's collection), depicting the same actor Nakamura Shikan II as Toneri Matsuōmaru [舎人松王丸] were published in 1832 by Iseya Ichiemon. The play was Sugawara's Secrets of Calligraphy [菅原伝授手習鑑] (Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami). See: [LIB-1212.2017] Robert Schaap. Kunisada: Imaging, drama and beauty / Introduction by Sebastian Izzard, contributions by Paul Griffith and Henk. J. Herwig. — Leiden: Hotei Publishing, ©2016.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada, a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) [歌川 国貞]. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847). Date aratame seal: Bunsei 12 (1829). Signed: Gototei Kunisada ga [五渡亭国貞画]. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e), 238 x 267 mm (overtrimmed). Actor: Iwai Shijaku I [紫若] (Japanese, 1804 – 1845); other names: Iwai Matsunosuke I [岩井松之助]; Iwai Hanshirō VII, Iwai Shijaku I, Iwai Komurasaki I. The background is Arare-ko-mon [霰小紋] hail pattern. In the red cartouche at the top right is the series title "Edo no hana – itsutsu Karigane" (江戸の花 五雁金), to be translated as "Flowers of Edo - the five Karigane blood-brothers" (or "the five Karigane gang members"). Another print from the series in this collection: SVJP-0304.2019. -
Title: Lyon Collection: Genji, Chapter 21, the maiden (otome - 乙女): the nine-tailed fox woman (kayō-fujin [花陽夫人]) terrorizing Prince Hanzoku (足王) and his servant from the series Japanese and Chinese parallels to Genji (wakan nazorae genji - 和漢准源氏). British Museum: Otome 乙女 (Maiden) / Waken nazorae Genji 和漢准源氏 (Japanese and Chinese Comparisons for the Chapters of the Genji). Schaap: Prince Hanzoku terrorized by a nine-tailed fox; Series: Wakan nazorae Genji (Japanese and Chinese parallels to Genji) Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (1798 – 1861). Publisher: Iseyoshi [伊勢芳] (Marks 25-013 | U095); seal [イせ芳]. Block carver: Hori Shōji [彫庄治] (Lyon Collection; BM); Hori Takichi [彫多吉] (Schaap). Date-aratame seal: Ansei 2, 7th month (1855). Ref: Jack Hillier. Japanese prints and drawings from the Vever Collection (3 volumes). — New York: Sotheby Parke Bernet & Rizzoli International, 1976; vol.3, p. 868, pl. 847. Robinson (1982): p. 161, S88, № 21. Schaap (1998): p. 115, № 107. SOLD -
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 [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche Publisher: Unknown (no seal). Date: c. 1832 Izzard: "... red cloth decorated with the characters Yauan, one of Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1791 – 1859) poetry names, and the name of his residence in Fukagawa. The absence of publisher's emblem and censorship seals may indicate that this was a privately issued print, not for public use". Ref.: [LIB-2967.2022] Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – 1865): His world revisited / Catalogue № 17, Exhibition March 17-21, 2021. — NY: Sebastian Izzard, LLC., 2021; p. 112-3, fig. 32). Size: Fan print (aiban uchiwa-e); 235 x 295 mm. -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, c. 1815 – 1869). Double nanushi censor seals: Hama & Magome, Kaei 2-5 (1849 – 1852). An uncut fan print (uchiwa-e, 220 x 292 mm) depicts a beautiful woman sitting on a balcony overlooking a bay and reading a book. Above the book, there is an obi with a pattern of stripes or modified key fret motif, with lettering that reads: 菅原島 [Sugawara-jima] and 美立 [mitate]. The lettering and the blossoming plum branch next to the obi provide an allusion to Sugawara no Michizane [菅原 道真/菅原 道眞] (Japanese, 845 – 903) - a prominent scholar and poet of Heian period exiled from Kyoto to the island of Kyushu as a result of another courtier's slander. A legend says that his beloved plum tree was so fond of its master that it flew to Kyushu with Sugawara. The Davis Museum at Wellesley College describes the print as belonging to the series A Parody of Sugawara Stripe Patterns (Mitate Sugawara-jima). To make the fact of an allusion transparent, Kunisada had changed the usual way of writing "Sugawara stripes" from 菅原縞 to 菅原島 and "mitate" from 見立 to 美立. An unusual spelling was also used to provide additional information to the reader in other cultures. E.g. during the Prohibition Era, the West Coast United States speakeasy bars and bordellos misspelt the items on a menu ("scollops") or in a neon sign ("Martuni's") to tell: here we have more pleasures for you than you may have expected. After Tenpō reforms, the printing of bijin-ga (美人画, "picture of beautiful woman") images was restricted. Our print disguises a typical bijin-ga as an advertisement of an obi (帯, a kimono sash) fabric pattern. "The market of portraits was satisfied and the authorities fooled" [Rebecca Salter. Japanese popular prints. — Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2006]. -
Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Unknown, seal [久] Kyū (Japanese, fl. c. 1851 – 1861); (Marks 07-023 | U176a, possibly Sagamia Kyūzō). Block carver: Koizumi Minokichi [小泉巳の吉] (Japanese, 1833 – 1906); seal: Hori Mino [彫已の] (Gordon Friese № 38). Date seal and double nanushi censor seals: Fuku & Muramatsu, Kaei 6, 2nd month (2/1853). Inscription in a red cartouche: (Purple of Edo // Purple of the Bay Capital) [江都むらさき] (Edo Murasaki), alluding to Murasaki Shikibu [紫 式部] (Japanese, c. 973/8 – c. 1014/31), the author of Genji Monogatari [源氏物語] (The Tale of Genji), a Heian period novel which was the source of a parody Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji [偐紫田舎源氏] (Fake Murasaki’s Rustic Genji) by Ryutei Tanehiko [柳亭種彦] (Japanese, 1783 – 1842). According to Horst Graebner: The actor is most probably Segawa Kikunojō V. Segawa Kikunojō V [瀬川菊之丞] (Japanese, 1802 – 1832); other names: Segawa Tamon I. One of the series of Kunisada's fan prints in this collection: -
Ippitsusai Bunchō [一筆斎文調] (Japanese, 1725 – 1794). Size: Vertical Hosoban. As the Library of Congress put it: "Print shows the actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II, full-length portrait, facing left, standing on the snow-covered veranda". Actor: Ichikawa Monnosuke II [市川門之助] (Japanese, 1743/56 – 1794); other names: Ichikawa Benzō I, Takinaka Hidematsu II, Takinaka Tsuruzō. According to Heroes of the Kabuki Stage [LIB-1197.2016] Ichikawa Monnosuke II was active from 11/1770 to 10/1794. Play: Chūshingura [忠臣蔵] (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), played at Nakamuraza in the 4the month of Meiwa 8 (1771). The actor played in a variety of roles and performances and was the subject of multiple woodblock prints by many famous ukiyo-e artists, including Bunchō, Katukawa Shunkō, Katukawa Shunshō, Katsukawa Shun'ei, Tōshūsai Sharaku, and many others. Ref: Vever (1976), vol. 1, № 242, p. 227.
Katsukawa Shun'ei. The Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II in an Aragoto Role. LACME.
Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Date no Yosaku Artist Tôshûsai Sharaku (Japanese, active 1794–1795), Publisher Tsutaya Jûzaburô (Kôshodô) (Japanese) 1794 (Kansei 6), 5th month. MFA.
Ippitsusai Bunchô. Actor Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Tsunewakamaru. Play: Iro Moyô Aoyagi Soga Theater: Nakamura. MFA.
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An uncut fan print shows a young woman holding a basket on a landscape background with hills and pines under a rising sun. Haruo Shirane: "Under the luni-solar calendar, the New Year coincided with the beginning of spring, making it the most important observance of the year for the aristocracy. In the Heian period, New Year ceremonies extended from New Year’s Day (Ganjitsu) to the Day of the Rat (Nenohi), which usually fell on the seventh day of the First Month, when courtiers went out to the fields (no), pulled up small pines, and gathered new herbs (wakana) as a prayer for long life. This ritual gradually spread to the provinces and to commoners, eventually resulting in the New Year practice of the gate pine (kadomatsu), in which a pair of small pines was placed at the gate of a house. A popular Heian-period painting topic representing the First Month was “prayers on the Day of the Rat” (Nenohi no asobi), which depicted the auspicious scene of pulling up small pines in a spring field. Both young herbs and gathering young herbs, particularly at Kasuga Field, became major poetic topics for the First Month, appearing in both the spring and celebration (ga) books of the Kokinshū (Collection of Japanese Poems Old and New, ca. 905). By the Kamakura period, the observance of the Day of the Rat had been abandoned at the imperial court, but the custom of gathering and eating young greens continued as the annual ceremony known as the Seven Grasses (Nanakusa). Note: The Heian-period ritual of pulling up the roots of small pines (komatsu ) on the first Day of the Rat derives from the homonyms ne (rat) and ne (root). Pulling up roots was auspicious, since it implied lengthening the year. The rising sun (hinode) was considered an auspicious sight, particularly at the beginning of the year". [Haruo Shirane, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons. Nature, Literature, and the Arts. — Columbia University, NY, 2012]. Title: Gathering of the young herbs on the Day of the Rat [子の日乃若菜] (Nenohi no wakana). Series: Three elegant sources of light [風流三光の内] (fūryū sankō no uchi); meaning the sun, the moon and the stars). Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher’s seal: Izuzen (Marks: seal 06-029 | U103b) Date and double nanushi censor seals: Mera and Watanabe, Kaei 6 (1853). A similar theme can be found in Kunisadai's triptych published in about 1844 (HARA SHOBO):
豊国三代「豊歳子日若菜摘ノ図」
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Kabuki actor Arashi Kichisaburō III [嵐吉三郎] as Sarushima Sōta [猿島惣太] in the play Hanamo Yoshida Iwao no Matsuwaka [花吉田岩尾松若] staged at Ichimura-za (市村座), theatre in Edo. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada, a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) [歌川 国貞]. Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei (Japanese, 1797-1869), seal: Hanmoto, Jū [板元, 十] (Marks 19-043 | 264c. Date seal and double nanushi censor seals Mera & Watanabe – 3rd month of Kaei 6 (1853). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e), 223 x 294 mm. Kabuki actor Arashi Kichisaburō III [嵐吉三郎] (Japanese, 1810 – 1864); other names: Arashi Daizaburō III, Arashi Kitsusaburō III Ref.: Art shop Ezoshi Ukiyoe new collection news, vol. 66, 2023.1 (Jan) # 30, p.8. -
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, c. 1815 – 1869). Published in c. 1845 (no seal). Possibly, from the "Untitled series of beauties reflected in mirrors", see Kunisada Project. However, this print does not have the seal of the censor Tanaka [田中]. -
Title: Third lunar month [弥生] (Yayoi no zu); Series: Fashionable Twelve Months (Imayo juni-kagetsu). Another version of translation: Modern Beauties of Twelve Months. Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [歌川豊国] (1769–1825). Pubisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, 1815 – 1869), seal: Dansendō [伊場仙]. Signed: Toyokuni ga and sealed with toshidama. Date-kiwame seal: Ushi (ox), Bunsei 5 (1822). Size: double-sheet uncut fan print ( aiban uchiwa-e), 219 x 295 mm.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga [香蝶楼国貞画] in a double-gourd cartouche. Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, 1776 – 1862); seal: Ue [上] (Marks 02-041 | 156a). Inscription in the red stripe: Five types of haiku in shōfū style [俳諧五流蕉風] (Haikai gōryū shōfū). Censor's seal: Watari [渡] (Watanabe Shōemon), VI/1842–V ic/1846. Media: Fan print [団扇絵] (Uchiwa-e); size: 225 x 292 mm. An uncut fan print depicts a young woman with an insect (firefly) cage in her left hand. Her striped kimono is adorned with the design of white, grey and blue cherry blossoms. Two of the Seven Grasses of Autumn [秋の七草] (aki no nanakusa), namely Platycodon grandiflorus (kikyō) [桔梗] a.k.a. Chinese bellflower (or balloon flower) and Patrinia scabiosifolia (ominaeshi) [女郎花] a. k.a. Eastern (or Golden) Valerian, are seen on her right-hand side. -
Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a yellow toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Unknown, seal [久] Kyū (Japanese, fl. c. 1851 – 1861); (Marks 07-023 | U176a, possibly Sagamia Kyūzō). Date seal and double nanushi censor seals: Fuku & Muramatsu, Kaei 6, 2nd month (2/1853). Inscription in a red cartouche: (Purple of Edo // Purple of the Bay Capital) [江都むらさき] (Edo Murasaki), alluding to Murasaki Shikibu [紫 式部] (Japanese, c. 973/8 – c. 1014/31), the author of Genji Monogatari [源氏物語] (The Tale of Genji), a Heian period novel which was the source of a parody Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji [偐紫田舎源氏] (Fake Murasaki’s Rustic Genji) by Ryutei Tanehiko [柳亭種彦] (Japanese, 1783 – 1842). According to Horst Graebner: The actor is Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII. Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1823 – 1854); other names: Ichikawa Ebizō VI, Ichikawa Shinnosuke II. One of the series of Kunisada’s fan prints in this collection: -
Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. 1815 – 1869). Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal: 彫竹 – Hori Take. Date seal and aratame censor seal: May of the Year of Dragon [辰五] (Tatsu-go) (5/1856) (Not in Marks).
Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e) depicting Onoe Kikugorō IV as Karukaya Dōshin parting from his son, Ishidomaru (played by Ichimura Uzaemon XIII), and Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I as Yamazakiya Yogoro in the kabuki play Karukaya Dōshin Tsukushi no Iezuto [苅萱桑門筑紫𨏍], written by Namiki Sōsuke [並木宗輔] (Japanese, 1695 – 1751) and performed at Ichimuraza [市村座] in 05/1856.
Media: Fan print [団扇絵] (Uchiwa-e); size: 235 x 305 mm.
Actors:
Onoe Kikugorō IV [四代目 尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1808 – 1860); other names: Onoe Baikō IV, Onoe Eizaburō III, Onoe Kikue, Nakamura Tatsuzō, Nakamura Kachō.
Onoe Kikugorō V [五代目尾上菊五郎] (Japanese, 1844 – 1903 other names: Onoe Baikō V, Ichimura Kakitsu IV, Ichimura Uzaemon XIII [十三代目市村羽左衛門], Ichimura Kurōemon.
Ichikawa Danjūrō IX [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1838 – 1903); other names: Kawarasaki Sanshō, Kawarasaki Gonnosuke VII, Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I, Kawarasaki Chōjūrō III.
Plot: It was a popular belief at one time that jealous women had their hair transformed into writhing serpents and Kato Sayemon Shige-Uji, a daimyo of Tsukushi, a much-married man, suffered from the delusion that his wife was so affected. He fled to the mountains to escape her and led the life of a hermit under the name of Karukaya Doshin [苅萓道心]. One day, on Mount Kōya (高野山, Kōyasan) Karukaya meets a young man who was wandering in the mountains. Being questioned, the youth tells his name, Ishidomaru, and elicits the information that he is seeking his lost father. Karukaya then recognizes the boy as his own son, but firm in the resolve to remain lost to the world, he refrains from disclosing himself, and bids the youth return home.
Provenance: Paul F. Walter (American, 1935 – 2017).
Ref.:
- [LIB-2110.2019] Samuel L. Leiter. Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre (Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts). / 2nd edition. – Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014; pp. 379-380.
- [LIB-2206.2019] Basil Stewart. Subjects portrayed in Japanese colour-prints. — London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., 1922.
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A young woman playing a four-string musical instrument with a bow (kokyū). Series: Assortments of Beauties Accomplishments [美人芸盡] (Bijin gei-zukushi). Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kochoro Kunisada ga [香蝶楼 国貞画] in a red double gourd cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Kyūbei [伊場屋久兵衛] (Japanese, 1804 – 1851); seal: Hanmoto, Kyū [板元久] (Marks 19-040 | 126e) Date seal: Bunsei 12 (1829). Censors' seal: Kiwame. Size: Fan print (uchiwa-e). -
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847), seal: San [三] (Marks 11-001 | 127c). Carver: Matsushima Fusajirō [松嶋房次郎] (Japanese, fl. 1843 – 1850); seal [彫工房次郎] – Hori kō Fusajirō (Gordon Friese № 136) Signed: Chōōrō Kuniyoshi ga [朝櫻楼国芳画] in a red double gourd-shaped cartouche. Nanushi censor seal: Tanaka [田中]; V/1844 or II/1845. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 238 x 304 mm. Reference: Kuniyoshi Project. Series mentioned in Robert Schaap. Heroes and ghosts: Japanese prints by Kuniyoshi, 1797-1861.— Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 1998; p. 122 [LIB-1030.2016].
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Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861). Publisher: Izuzen (fl. c. 1800s – 1840s) (Marks 06-029|U103b). Signed: Ichiyosai Kuniyoshi ga in a red cartouche and sealed with paulownia crest (kiri mon). Double nanushi censor seals: Fuku & Muramatsu, 1849-51 (Kaei 2 – Kaei 4). Young woman in front of the western-style framed portrait of Soga Tokimune, who is depicted after having his kusazuri ripped off by Asahina Saburō. The series of fan prints A Collection of Pictures in Modern Style [今様額面合] (Imayô gakumen awase) can be found at Kuniyoshi Project. Soga Tokimune, a.k.a. Soga no Gorō [曾我時致] (Japanese, 1174 – 1193), a historical figure and a character of an epic tale Soga Monogatari [曽我物語] (A Tale of Soga Brothers). Asahina Saburō [朝比奈 三朗], a.k.a. Asahina Yoshihide [朝比奈 義秀] is also mentioned in the Soga Monogatari. Kusazuri [草摺] (くさずり) – tassets on a suit of a samurai's armour. Another Kuniyoshi's print with the same characters: Goro Tokimune and Asahina Saburo; Series: The Tale of Soga Brothers; Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō; Date: 1843-1845; Size: Vertical Ōban: 359 x 245 mm.
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Title: Seventh lunar month [初秋] (Hatsuaki no zu); Series: Fashionable Twelve Months (Imayo juni-kagetsu). Another version of translation: Modern Beauties of Twelve Months. Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [歌川豊国] (1769–1825). Pubisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, 1815 – 1869), seal: Dansendō [伊場仙]. Signed: Toyokuni ga and sealed with toshidama. Date-kiwame seal: Ushi (ox), Bunsei 5 (1822). Size: double-sheet uncut fan print ( aiban uchiwa-e), 219 x 295 mm.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). An untrimmed fan print titled Fuji Tsukuba aiaigasa, shows the actors Ichikawa Ebizo V [市川海老蔵] and the onnagata actor Iwai Shijaku I [岩井紫若] sharing an umbrella against the wind. Tsukuba, about 50 kilometres from Edo, was an area where both Fuji and Mount Tsukuba could be viewed together. Mount Fuji being the female and Mount Tsukuba the male. An aizuri-e background (common to all the designs in this set). A play on images and words. Actors: Ichikawa Danjūrō VII [市川団十郎] (Japanese, 1791 – 1859); other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V [市川海老蔵], Ichikawa Hakuen II, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I. Iwai Matsunosuke I [岩井松之助] (Japanese, 1804 – 1845); other names: Iwai Hanshirō VII, Iwai Shijaku I [岩井紫若], Iwai Komurasaki I. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). The publisher’s seal is on the umbrella. Date: circa 1832. Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga in a red double-gourd cartouche. From the series of fan prints:
Two more prints from the series 'Fuji and Tsukuba sharing an umbrella' (Fuji Tsukuba aiaigasa), not in this Collection:
SVJP-0341.2021
Kabuki actors Onoe Kikugorō III and Iwai Kumesaburo II. Year: c. 1832; Publisher: No seal; Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga From Kunisada Project. 
Kabuki actors Bandō Minosuke II and Iwai Shijaku I. Year: c. 1832; Publisher: No seal; Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga From Kunisada Project. -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, c. 1815 – 1869). Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863); seal Hori Take [彫竹]. Double nanushi censor seals: Mera & Murata (1847-50). Title: Cool Breeze on Tenpōzan Hill in Naniwa [浪花天保山の涼] (Naniwa Tenpōzan no ryō). An uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), depicting a gentleman (most probably kabuki actor Nakamura Utaemon IV) holding a pipe with the view of Tenpōzan Hill [天保山] in Naniwa (Osaka) in the background. A distinctive structure on the left is the Sumiyoshi Lantern [住吉高灯篭] (Sumiyoshi takadōrō), which was destroyed by a typhoon in 1950. The character 翫 – moteasobu – on the gentleman’s robe means "take pleasure, play an instrument". Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II, Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō. The character is visually similar to a gentleman drinking tea on a veranda under the shining moon from the series ‘Moon, Sun, Stars’ [月日星] (Getsu hi hoshi), see SVJP-0211-1.2016: The Moon.
As noted by Horst Graebner, the gentleman also resembles the character on another Kunisada's actor print, published in 1852 (Waseda University Cultural Resources Database № 114-0232):
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Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861) Publisher: British Museum provides for the title as Enkyoku-zoroi [艶曲揃] (Set of Voluptuous Melodies) and the publisher as Sanpei. Indeed, 三平 (Sanpei) was a wholesale fan shop at the end of the Edo period. However, Andreas Marks identifies the publisher's seal as 三平 Mihei = Mikawaya Heiroku (1848-56), a member of the Fan Producing Guild (AM 11-016|325a). Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō, seal: Carver Taki [彫竹] (Hori Take)Signed: Ichiyosai Kuniyoshi ga in a red cartouche and sealed with paulownia (kiri mon).
Date seal and double nanushi censor seals: Fuku & Muramatsu, 1853 (Kaei 6, 2nd month).
Size: Uchiwa-e (untrimmed fan print) 296 x 230 mm.
SVJP-0303.2019
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Artist: Utagawa Kuniyasu [歌川 国安] (Japanese, 1794–1832). Publisher seal: [太] (Ta): Marks 02-050 | U421b: An unknown publisher in Edo, fl. c. 1815-61; name assigned according to seal shape “Yama-Ta“. Signed: Kuniyasu ga [国安 画]. Date-aratame seal: Bunsei 9 (1826). Actors: Iwai Hanshirō VI [岩井半四郎] (Japanese, 1799 – 1836), other names: Iwai Hanshirō VI, Iwai Kumesaburō II, Iwai Hisajirō I, Baiga (poetry name), Shūka (poetry name) — as Shirai Gonpachi [白井權八]. Ichikawa Danjūrō VII 市川団十郎 (Japanese, 1791 – 1859), other names: Ichikawa Ebizō V, Ichikawa Hakuen II, Ichikawa Shinnosuke I — as Banzui Chōbei [幡随長兵衛]. Kabuki play: Suzugamori [Suzu-ga-Mori, 鈴ヶ森], a.k.a. Ukiyozuka Hiyoku no Inazuma written by Tsuruya Nanboku IV (Japanese, c. 1755 – 1829). First staged in 1823 at Ichimura-za [市村座] in Edo. Plot: "A gang of evil palanquin bearers are stationed near the Suzugamori execution grounds, where they lay in wait to rob travellers passing through. Gonpachi, who killed a man in his home province, is being sought by the police. He is fleeing to Edo when the bearers attack him in hopes of claiming a reward. He beats them off with great skill. Banzui Chōbei, who is being carried by in a palanquin, sees the attack, admires Gonpachi's ability, and promises to aid him if he is going to Edo". [Samuel L. Leiter. Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre. — Rowman & Littlefield, 2014; p. 382-3.; LIB-2110.2019]. Ref.: Sotheby's. -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal: 彫竹 – hori Take. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 238 x 304 mm. Title: Saiko (West River) [西江]; 西江 means the Xi River in China. Series: Chronicles of Elegant Women [風雅女史傳] (Fūga joshiden). Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: Ansei 6 (1859). Other prints from the same series in this collection: SVJP-0216.2016 — Princess Sotoori:
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Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, c. 1815 – 1869), no publisher's seal on this print. Another title of this image provided by Sebastian Izzard is Acrobats becoming animals. The series Brother Pictures for Comparison [絵鏡台合かゝ身] (e-kyôdai awase kagami) can be found at Kuniyoshi Project: "This series consists of pairs of fan prints, with one print of each pair being a silhouette of the other. The series is not listed in Kuniyoshi by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961)". The series is attributed to c. 1840. Signed: Ichiyosai Kuniyoshi ga. Size: Size: Uchiwa-e (untrimmed fan print) 227 x 299 mm. -
Title: Ninth lunar month [菊月] (Kikuzuki no zu); Series: Fashionable Twelve Months (Imayo juni-kagetsu). Another version of translation: Modern Beauties of Twelve Months. Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I [歌川豊国] (1769–1825). Pubisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, 1815 – 1869), seal: Dansendō [伊場仙]. Signed: Toyokuni ga and sealed with toshidama. Date-kiwame seal: Ushi (ox), Bunsei 5 (1822). Size: double-sheet uncut fan print ( aiban uchiwa-e), 219 x 295 mm.
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Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). An untrimmed fan print titled Fuji Tsukuba aiaigasa, shows the actors Nakamura Shikan II [二代目中村芝翫] and the onnagata actor Iwai Kumesaburō II [岩井粂三郎] sharing an umbrella against the snow. Tsukuba, about 50 kilometres from Edo, was an area where both Fuji and Mount Tsukuba could be viewed together. Mount Fuji being the female and Mount Tsukuba the male. An aizuri-e background (common to all the designs in this set). A play on images and words. Actors: Nakamura Utaemon IV [中村歌右衛門] (Japanese, 1796 – 1852); other names: Nakamura Shikan II [二代目中村芝翫], Nakamura Tsurusuke I, Nakamura Tōtarō. Iwai Hanshirō VI [[岩井半四郎] (Japanese, 1799 – 1836); other names: Iwai Hanshirō VI, Iwai Kumesaburō II [岩井粂三郎], Iwai Hisajirō I, Baiga (poetry name), Shūka (poetry name). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburo [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. c. 1845 – 1847). Date: circa 1832. Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga in a red double-gourd cartouche. From the series of fan prints:
Two more prints from the series 'Fuji and Tsukuba sharing an umbrella' (Fuji Tsukuba aiaigasa), not in this Collection:
SVJP-0342.2021
Kabuki actors Onoe Kikugorō III and Iwai Kumesaburo II. Year: c. 1832; Publisher: No seal; Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga From Kunisada Project. Kabuki actors Bandō Minosuke II and Iwai Shijaku I. Year: c. 1832; Publisher: No seal; Signed: Kōchōrō Kunisada ga From Kunisada Project. -
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Ichiyōsai Toyokuni hitsu [一陽斎豊国筆]. Inscriptions: [松竹梅] Shochikubai = pine (matsu, 松), bamboo (take, 竹), and plum (ume, 梅) – an auspicious grouping known as “The Three Friends of Winter“; [三福追] (Sanpuku tsui) – the three delights, or pleasures. Date seal and aratame censor seal: Ansei 2, 1st month (1855). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, c. 1815 – 1869). Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863); seal: Hori Take [彫竹]. Kabuki actor Onoe Kikugorō V [五代目尾上菊五郎] (Onoe Baikō V, Ichimura Kakitsu IV, Ichimura Uzaemon XIII, Ichimura Kurōemon, Japanese, 1844 – 1903) giving candies to the memorial portrait of his predecessor, Ichimura Takenojō V [市村竹之丞] (Ichimura Uzaemon XII, Ichimura Kamenosuke, Ichimura Toyomatsu, Japanese, 1812 – 1851); the latter is dressed in a green robe adorned with a crest (mon) of a kōrin-style crane in a tortoiseshell (octagon), the hanging scroll border decorated with bamboo under snow; the collar of Onoe's kimono decorated with plum blossoms, another plum blossom arrangement decorates the screen behind him. Actors identified by Horst Graebner. Two fan prints from this series in Varshavsky Collection:
SVJP-0335.2021
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Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞]; a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865).Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche.
Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei (c. 1797-1869), seal: Hanmoto, Jū [板元, 十] (Marks 19-043 | 264c).
Double nanushi censor seals: Mera & Watanabe – Kaei 4 (1851).
Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), 298 x 228 mm depicting a young woman adjusting her hairpin and holding a portable lantern (andon) on a marine background with the full moon, nearby boats and distant cormorant fishers.
