Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1839-1892

Picture of Trade with Many Nations in a Large French Port
(Fura ominato shokoku kokei no zu)

signed Yoshitoshi hitsu with publisher's seal Nantenma Ni, Iseki (Iseya Kisaburo) and combined date and censor seal Tora shi, aratame (examined, year of the tiger [1866], 4th month)

oban tate-e triptych 14 1/2 by 29 1/2 in., 36.7 by 74.8 cm

A group of foreigners observe a trade ship from a dock in Yokohama. During the 1860s, Yoshitoshi and other students of Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) produced the majority of the hugely popular so-called Yokohama prints depicting Westerners and their commercial activities principally in the city of Yokohama. Of all the cities opened up to foreign trade following the 1858 commercial treaty signed between the shogunal government and the United States, Yokohama is notable both for its proximity to Edo and its physical isolation. The harbor lay in a deep recess, far from the Tokaido highway, and entirely surrounded by sea, swamp, or waterway that could only be accessed by one of four closely guarded bridges. Regardless, the foreign residents of Yokohama were the first who could, in theory mingle with some of the general public, and soon became highly marketable as ukiyo-e subjects.

References:
Keyes 1983, p. 369, no. 168
Meech-Pekarik 1987, pp. 9-14
Yonemura 1990, p. 167, no. 70

SOLD