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NEWArtist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) (1797–1861) Signed: 一勇斎 (Ichiyūsai) in a yellow cartouche, 國芳画 (Kuniyoshi ga) in a red cartouche Publisher: 未詳 (Yama-Ta), seal [板元, 太] – Hanmoto, Ta; Marks 19-044 | U421b Censor Seal: Aratame + Ansei 3 (3rd lunar month, 1856) Block Carver: 彫竹 (Hori Take), identified as Yokokawa Takejirō (横川竹二郎) (fl. 1845–1863) Media: Rigid fan print (Aiban Yoko-e Uchiwa-e, 合判横絵 団扇絵), 227 × 286 mm Half-length portrait of a high-ranking courtesan (oiran, 花魁) seated in a three-quarter view, holding a porcelain sake cup decorated with a blue mon of stylized oak leaves (kashiwa, 柏). She gazes downward at a partially unrolled letter resting on her lap. Her elaborate hairstyle, adorned with multiple kogai (ornamental hairpins) featuring golden floral motifs, signifies her elevated status within her profession. Her layered kimono displays a combination of red, blue, and black geometric patterns, emphasizing the luxurious textiles associated with courtesans of her rank. The stylized oak leaves on the sake cup may allude to the family mon of Onoe family of kabuki actors, evoking the overlap between theatre and the pleasure quarters. The background portrays a night scene in the Yoshiwara Pleasure District (吉原), where figures move beneath lantern-lit buildings, showing the vibrant nightlife of Edo. -
NEWTitle: The Great Waterfall at the Twelve Shrines of Tsunohazu (Tsunohazu juniso otaki) [角筈十二社大滝] from an untitled set of views of famous places in Edo. Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige II [二代目 歌川広重] (Japanese, 1826 – 1869) – a son-in-law of Andō Hiroshige. Signature: Hiroshige ga [廣重画] Dimensions: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e, 226 x 291 mm. Combined date/censor seal: tori, 酉 / kiwame 極 – 1861 (Man'en 2 / Bunkyū 1 from 19/II). Publisher: Yama-Ta; seal: [板元, 太] – Hanmoto, Ta; Marks 19-044 | U421b: An unknown publisher in Edo, fl. c. 1815-61. Provenance: Collection of Maroni, Albert (French, 1852 – 1923), red stamp in the bottom-left corner. Reference: [LIB-3429.2025] Christie’s, New York: Japanese Art, Thursday 24 April 1997 / Sales Catalogue; lot № 312.An aizuri-e (blue print) on a popular topic, many times depicted by Andō Hiroshige and Hiroshige II, including the below print by the latter No. 45, the Twelve Kumano Shrines at Tsunohazu (Tsunohazu Kumano jûnisha), from the series Forty-Eight Famous Views of Edo (Edo meisho yonjûhakkei)「江戸名所四十八景 四十五 角筈熊野十二社」
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NEWIn red cartouche: Famous places in Bushū and Kanagawa (Bushū Kanagawa meisho) [武州神奈河名昕] In yellow striped square: Gankirō in Yokohama (Yokohama Gankirō) [横濱巌亀楼] / new spelling 横浜岩亀楼. The three kanji [岩亀楼] (Gankirō) are also visible on the sign or lantern above the food tray, carried on the head by a man on the left. Gankirō – the largest 'tea house' (brothel) for foreigners in the Miyozaki pleasure quarters, similar to those in Yoshiwara, in Edo. Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige II [二代目 歌川広重] (Japanese, 1826 – 1869) – a son-in-law of Andō Hiroshige. Signature: Hiroshige ga [廣重画] Dimensions: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e, 223 x 289 mm. Combined date/censor seal: monkey (saru - 申) and kiwame (極), 1860. Publisher: Yama-Ta; seal: [板元, 太] – Hanmoto, Ta; Marks 19-044 | U421b: An unknown publisher in Edo, fl. c. 1815-61. Another Hiroshige II's print with the same subject and even the same characters, but in 3rd month, 1859: Entrance to the Gankirō Tea House in the Miyozaki District, Yokohama, Bushu (Bushu Yokohama Gankirō) [諸国名所百景 武州横浜岩亀楼]. Utagawa Yoshikazu's [歌川芳員] depiction of the place in c. 1861 from the inside:[Thanks to Horst Graebner].
Foreigners Enjoying Themselves in the Gankirō. MET JP3264.
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Title: Gotenyama [御殿山] – one of the most popular cherry blossom viewing spots; it is a hill at Shinagawa [品川], the second station on the Tōkaidō road [東海道], located on the shores of Edo Bay [江戸湾]. Series: A Collection of Mountains [山つくし] (Yama tsukushi) Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 12 January 1865). Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō, seal: [彫竹] – Hori Take. Publisher: Yama-Ta; seal: [板元, 太] – Hanmoto, Ta; Marks 19-044 | U421b: An unknown publisher in Edo, fl. c. 1815-61. Combined date seal and kiwame censor seal: Ansei 6 (1851). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Size: Fan print (uchiwa-e) 227 x 287 mm. -
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. -
Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865).Uncut fan print (uchiwa-e), 295 x 230 mm, depicting kabuki actor Bandō Shūka I as Shirai Gonpachi (白井権八) reading a scroll by the light of a lantern. From the series A Parody of the Five Chivalrous Commoners; a Cup of Sake From Their Fans (Mitate gonin otoko, go-hiiki no omoizashi). According to Paul Griffith, the term omoizashi refers to the act of pouring a cup of sake for one's chosen partner, here giving an impression of intimacy and affection between famous actors and their patrons.
Actor: Bandō Shūka I [初代坂東しうか] (Japanese, 1813-1855); other names: Bandō Tamasaburō I, Bandō Mitsugorō V (posthumously). The print was probably published by some unknown Yama-Ta (Marks U421b). Double nanushi censor seals and date seal: Muramatsu and Fuku, Kaei 5, 2nd month (2/1852). As Kabuki Encyclopedia put it: "Gonpachi. A parasite. From the character named Shirai Gonpachi who lives at the home of Banzui Chōbei and sponges off him" (An English-Langauge Adaptation of Kabuki Jiten. Samuel L. Leiter. Greenwood Press, 1979, pp. 26, 98-9). There were many kabuki plays based on the story of the lovers Miura-ya Komurasaki and Shirai Gonpachi. (See: [LIB-2226.2019] Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford. Tales of Old Japan. — London: Macmillan and Co., 1883). Ref.: Art shop Ezoshi Ukiyoe new collection news, vol. 66, 2023.1 (Jan) # 31, p.8.
