Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865)
Signature: Toyokuni ga (豊國画) in a red toshidama cartouche
Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858).
Signature: Hiroshige ga (廣重画) in a red rectangular cartouche
Date and Censor Seal: 1858 — Ansei 5 (午, Year of the Horse) plus Approved (kiwame, 極)
Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, 1776 – 1862); seal: hanmoto Ue (板元上)
Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 232 x 298 mm
Title: Muronotsu in Harima Province (
Harima Muronotsu, 播磨室ノ津); Horst Graebner's version: Harbor at Muro in Harima Province (Harima Muro-no-tsu, 播磨室ノ津)
Series: A Set of Ports in the Provinces (
Shokoku minato tsukushi, 諸国湊尽); Horst Graebner's version: Collection of harbours in the Land of Virtue (Tokukoku minato tsukushi, 徳国湊つくし)
A half-length portrait of a woman in a three-quarter view facing right, seated in a boat, gazing toward the Muronotsu harbour. She extends her right hand as if pointing toward the merchant ships anchored near the shore. Her black hair is arranged in an elaborate updo, adorned with gilt hairpins (簪 kanzashi) and a decorative comb. She wears a multi-layered kimono featuring a purple outer robe with delicate butterfly and floral embroidery, a blue-patterned collar, and a red underlayer with a geometric motif.
The background landscape, designed by Hiroshige, depicts Muronotsu in Harima Province, an important Edo-period port along the Inland Sea. Several merchant ships with masts loaded with goods are docked near the tree-covered coastline while a smaller sailing vessel moves across the bay. The sky transitions into a soft pink and purple gradient, suggesting sunrise or sunset.
In Kunisada: Imaging, Drama and Beauty by Robert Schaap [LIB-1212.2017], we see the following description: In this composition, Kunisada was responsible for the female figure seated in a boat and Utagawa Hiroshige for the background landscape. The setting is Muronotsu in Harima province, which was known at the time as an important harbour catering to traffic along the Inland Sea to Kyoto. It also had the reputation for its female entertainers and prostitutes. They feature in the no play Courtesans of Muro (Murogimi) in which the deity at Muro performs a dance, lured in by the singing of these women.
NEWArtist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) Signature: Toyokuni ga (豊國画) in a red toshidama cartouche Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858). Signature: Hiroshige ga (廣重画) in a red rectangular cartouche Date and Censor Seal: 1858 — Ansei 5 (午, Year of the Horse) plus Approved (kiwame, 極) Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, 1776 – 1862); seal: hanmoto Ue (板元上) Media: Aiban yoko-e uchiwa-e (団扇絵), color woodblock print, 232 x 298 mm Title: Muronotsu in Harima Province (Harima Muronotsu, 播磨室ノ津); Horst Graebner's version: Harbor at Muro in Harima Province (Harima Muro-no-tsu, 播磨室ノ津) Series: A Set of Ports in the Provinces (Shokoku minato tsukushi, 諸国湊尽); Horst Graebner's version: Collection of harbours in the Land of Virtue (Tokukoku minato tsukushi, 徳国湊つくし) A half-length portrait of a woman in a three-quarter view facing right, seated in a boat, gazing toward the Muronotsu harbour. She extends her right hand as if pointing toward the merchant ships anchored near the shore. Her black hair is arranged in an elaborate updo, adorned with gilt hairpins (簪 kanzashi) and a decorative comb. She wears a multi-layered kimono featuring a purple outer robe with delicate butterfly and floral embroidery, a blue-patterned collar, and a red underlayer with a geometric motif. The background landscape, designed by Hiroshige, depicts Muronotsu in Harima Province, an important Edo-period port along the Inland Sea. Several merchant ships with masts loaded with goods are docked near the tree-covered coastline while a smaller sailing vessel moves across the bay. The sky transitions into a soft pink and purple gradient, suggesting sunrise or sunset.