//Chuban uchiwa-e
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    Utagawa Kuniteru II. Miniature Framed View of a Dedication at Asakusa Kinryūzan / Fan print, c. 1870s.

    Artist: After Utagawa Kuniteru II [歌川国輝] (Japanese, 1830 – 1876), possibly by Gyokuei [玉英]

    Publisher: No seal

    Date: No date; the original Kuniteru's print dated Meiji 2 (1869)

    Media: Woodblock colour print, chūban uchiwa-e (fan print), 230 x 245 mm

    This fan print reproduces, in miniature, Kuniteru’s 1869 triptych commemorating a sumo fundraising event at Sensō-ji Temple (浅草寺, Sensō-ji, also known as 金龍山, Kinryūzan) in Asakusa (浅草, Asakusa). The scene is framed as a hanging votive painting (ema, 絵馬) bordered in red and gold. Centred is the yokozuna Jinmaku Kyūgorō (陣幕久五郎, Jinmaku Kyūgorō) performing the shiko (四股) leg-stomping pose, flanked by two other wrestlers.

    Seated at left is gyoji (行司) Kimura Shōnosuke (木村庄之助, Kimura Shōnosuke) with his war fan, and at right are Shachi-no-umi Umekichi (鯱ノ海梅吉, Shachi-no-umi Umekichi) holding a sword, and stablemasters Aioi Matsugorō (相生松五郎, Aioi Matsugorō) and Tamagaki (玉垣, Tamagaki). Also present is the gunbai-holding referee, Shikimori Inosuke (式守伊之助, Shikimori Inosuke).

    The background represents a stylized sumo danpatsu-shiki (断髪式) setting. This uchiwa-e version may have been distributed as a commemorative gift to donors who supported the temple.

    金龍山浅草寺奉額縮図 (Kinryūzan Sensōji Hōgaku Shukuzu)

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    Nabeta Gyokuei. Night Parade of Foxes, Daydream of a Cat / Fan print, c. 1880s.

    Artist: Nabeta Gyokuei [鍋田玉英] (Japanese, 1847 – after 1902)

    Signed: Gyokuei (玉英) with red seal

    Publisher: Iseya Sōemon (伊勢屋惣右衛門, active 1776–1862); red seal on the lantern: 上 (Ue) under a double roof (Marks 02-041 | 156a)

    Date: Meiji period, 1880s

    Media: Woodblock colour print, chūban uchiwa-e (fan print), 245 × 250 mm

    Fan-shaped composition divided diagonally into two contrasting scenes, reminiscent of Yin and Yang:
    • Upper: 陰 (in) — illusion, night, spirit world, fantasy
    • Lower: 陽 (yō) — reality, day, natural world, sensory experience
    The upper section presents a stylized kitsune no gyōretsu (狐の行列, fox procession), a popular motif in Japanese folklore. Silhouetted against a backdrop resembling driving rain, a line of anthropomorphic foxes marches in step, carrying naginata (薙刀), swords, and boxes. The figures parody a grand procession of a daimyō (feudal chieftain) and his entourage en route from their home province to Edo. This part of the print represents an illusory world of supernatural creatures and may reflect a human’s enchanted vision under the fox’s spell. The lead fox bears a lantern marked with the publisher’s seal 上 (Ue) beneath a double roof—cleverly incorporated as an in-world object. This subtle act of visual metafiction merges the real-world production of the print with the fantasy it depicts. It playfully suggests that even the mechanisms of publishing participate in the creation of illusion, echoing the roles of artists, storytellers, and fox spirits alike. The lower section contrasts sharply in tone and style. It depicts a naturalistic domestic setting with a cat crouching beside a bowl of swimming goldfish and a decorative ball (temari, 手毬). The cat peers intently at the bowl—its eyes wide and body tense—in predatory anticipation. This scene's vivid, grounded realism contrasts the monochrome dreamscape above, reinforcing the boundary between visible reality and the realm of illusion.
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    Utagawa Hiroshige. View of Lake Kawaguchi in Kai Province / Fan print, 1844-45.

    Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858) Signed: Hiroshige ga (廣重画), with seal Ichiryūsai (一立齋) Publisher: Anonymous/Unknown Date: Circa 1844–1845 Media: Color woodblock print, fan print (chuban uchiwa-e), 190 × 243 mm Title: View of Lake Kawaguchi in Kai Province (甲斐川口湖水之図, Kai Kawaguchi Kosui no Zu) Series: Untitled series of views of Mount Fuji Provenance: Nelkin Collection The print depicts an expansive view of Lake Kawaguchi (河口湖), one of the Five Lakes of Mount Fuji, located in Kai Province (modern-day Yamanashi Prefecture). Dominating the composition is the majestic silhouette of Mount Fuji, rendered in delicate gradation from grey to white, with snow at the summit. The lower portion of the mountain is softly enveloped in mist, heightening its monumental presence.

    In the foreground, a steep bank supports two pine trees (松), while the middle ground shows a peaceful lakeside with scattered villages and trees. The upper section of the print fades into a gradient sky of pale green and blue, reinforcing a tranquil atmosphere.

    Executed with Hiroshige’s characteristic economy of line and subtle use of colour, the composition makes striking use of negative space and vertical layering. As noted by Faulkner, this design belongs to a rare group of fan prints by Hiroshige that are small in size, square in format, and lack the typical cut-away lower section found in most uchiwa-e. No other prints from this series are known beyond the two recorded examples.

    Reference:

    [LIB-3429.2025] Christie’s, New York: Japanese Art, Thursday 24 April 1997 / Sales Catalogue; p. 144, lot 288.

    [LIB-1344.2017] Rupert Faulkner. Hiroshige Fan Prints: Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series. — London: V&A Publications / New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001; p. 92, Plate 64.

    The second print from the series at Rupert Faulkner — Plate 65, View of the Sea at Kisarazu in Kazusa Province (Kazusa Kisarazu Kaijō no Zu)

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    Utagawa Hiroshige. Rabbits under the Autumn Moon / Fan print, 1849-52.

    Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858) Signed: Hiroshige (廣重); seal: Ichiryūsai (一立齋) Publisher: Mikawaya Heiroku (三川屋平六); seal: sanpei (三平) fan-shaped Censor seals: Hama (濱) & Magome (馬込) Date: c. 1849–1851 Media: Color woodblock print, fan print (chuban uchiwa-e), 223 x 260 mm Provenance: Nelkin Collection

    Two rabbits are shown under a large full moon silhouetted against a softly graded blue night sky. One rabbit, rendered in white with a red eye, sits upright facing the moon, while the other, lightly shaded in pale pink, rests in the foreground, partially crouched. The hill they occupy is gently sloping and dotted with tufts of autumn grass (susuki, 薄), their thin, curving stalks swaying in the breeze. The minimalist composition and subdued palette evoke the quiet stillness of an autumn evening and the poetic associations of moon-viewing (tsukimi, 月見).

    This elegant uchiwa-e (fan print) reflects classical seasonal imagery rooted in Heian poetry and visual traditions. Rabbits and the full moon symbolize mid-autumn and harvest time. The simplicity and balance of line and colour are characteristic of Utagawa Hiroshige's approach to nature motifs.

    Reference: [LIB-3426.2025] Christophe Marquet. Hiroshige: Les éventails d’Edo / Estampes de la collection Georges Leskowicz. — Paris: In fine, 2022; p. 272, pl. 115.

    "At least seven examples of this print are known, one of which presents a different background (former collection Werner Schindler), with the addition of a green tone in the lower part to evoke a meadow—possibly constituting an earlier version. Art historian Narazaki Muneshige (Narazaki 1973, p. 37) considered that this print may have been intended as the reverse of a fan, but the existence of numerous examples contradicts this hypothesis, as this type of print is very rarely preserved in good condition".

    Bibliography:

    • Matsuki 1924, no. 64 (former coll. Nakamura Tatsujiro)
    • Ukiyo-e geijutsu, no. 14, 1967, p. 3 (coll. Uchiyama Susumu)
    • Narazaki 1973, no. 79 (Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, San Francisco, Katherine Ball Collection)
    • Schindler 1985, no. 52
    • Okuda 2010, no. 174 (Ota Memorial Museum of Art), list no. 479
    • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 21.10128 (acquired by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1913 for Spaulding)
    • The Art Institute of Chicago, 1934.274 (former coll. Clarence Buckingham)
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