Suzuki Harunobu

ca. 1724-70

Three Evenings

each signed Suzuki Harunobu ga, published by Nishinomiya Shinroku (fl. ca. 1762-1829), ca. 1768

chuban tate-e each approximately 11 1/8 by 8 1/8 in., 28.3 by 20.5 cm

These three prints are from an untitled series known as the Three Evenings. Each composition illustrates a pair of relaxing beauties accompanied by a rectangular cartouche enclosing consecutive verses that refer to the evening from section four of the Shin Kokinshu.

The print with the descriptive title Autumn Evening by the Marsh, with Sandpiper, illustrating a standing beauty holding a letter with a girl and shamisen features a poem by Saigyo Hoshi (1118-1190):

kokoro naki
mi ni mo aware wa
shirarekeri
shigi tatsu sawa no
aki no yugure

Against my will a
feeling of wistfulness has
crept into my heart...
on the marsh where the snipe starts up
in the autumn at sundown

The print with the descriptive title, Reading on an Autumn Evening, illustrating a reclining girl reading a book beside a standing figure holding a tobacco pipe features a poem by Jakuren Hoshi:

sabishisa wa
sono iro to shi mo
nakarikeri
maki tatsu yama no
aki no yugure

solitariness-
even the warmth of colors
is for it absent...
where black firs grow, the mountains
in the autumn at sundown

The print with the descriptive title, On a Verandah Overlooking the Water features a poem by Gonchunagon Sadaie (Teika, 1162-1241), who compiled the poetry anthology, Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each):

Miwataseba
hana mo momiji mo
nakarikeri
ura no tomaya no
aki no yugure

As far as the eye
can see, neither blossom nor red maple are there...
just a thatched hut by the shore
in the autumn at sundown

For poem translations and comparison with a complete set assembled by the British Museum, see Waterhouse, Harunobu and his Age, nos. 30, 31 and 32, where he notes the subject and compositions of the three prints are derived from a single page from Ehon Yamato hiji (1735-42), vol. I by Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671-1750), entitled Sanseki ittai zu, which is a composite illustration of three consecutive Shin kokinshu poems.

References:
David Waterhouse, Harunobu and his Age: The Development of Colour Printing in Japan, The British Museum, 1964, pp. 100-101, no. 30
David Waterhouse, Images of Eighteenth Century Japan: Ukyio-e Prints from the Sir Edmund Walker Collection, Royal Ontario Museum, 1975, p. 21, no. 70

Exhibited (all three prints):
Collected and Cherished, Japanese Art in Dutch Private Collections 1600-1900, Society for Japanese Art, Westfries Museum in Hoorn, The Netherlands, September 2nd - October 22, 2000

(inv. no. C-3682)

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Suzuki Harunobu

ca. 1724-70

Twelve Zodiac Animals: Pair of Goats
(Junishi: Hitsuji)

signed Suzuki Harunobu ga, ca. 1765-70

chuban tate-e 10 3/8 by 7 3/4 in., 26.5 by 19.6 cm

This woodblock print of merry goats frolicking beside blossoming peonies with white dragonflies in silhouette against a dayflower blue sky is exceedingly rare and an unusual subject for the artist. The positioning and expression of the two smiling goats seems to have been inspired by a charming scene with three goats found in the Complete Picture Book of Animals (Kedamono ehon zukishi) illustrated by Hishikawa Moronobu (1618-1694) which was published in 1694. Harunobu's pair of goats display anthropomorphic personality in an unspoken dialogue of engagement with the pink goat prancing flirtatiously while coyly watching a dragonfly as the white goat approaches from behind, leering mischievously.

Renowned for his images of youthful beauties, there are scant examples of non-figural works by Harunobu, particularly in this chuban format. To wit: among the nearly 650 Harunobu woodblock prints (including unsigned works and book pages) in the collection of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, nearly all are figural aside from some of the early hosoban benizuri-e. Most of the animals that are depicted accompany figures, primarily in the service of mitate-e (parody). Non-figural exceptions are often unsigned and attributed to Harunobu, include two kacho-ga (bird and flower prints); one unsigned print depicting a kingfisher, the other signed and depicting herons; an unsigned print of potted chrysanthemums; and an unsigned print of two rabbits gazing at the moon (all from the Spaulding Collection).

Other major collections and resources yield few other nature subjects in the chuban format. The Art Institute of Chicago, with over 300 Harunobu prints (well-documented in Margaret O. Gentles essential 1965 publication, The Clarence Buckingham Collection, Vollume II), holds an unsigned print, Herons in the Snow, and another signed print, Cranes at Waka-o-ura. In Harunobu Zenshu, with 685 images, Yoshida Teruji includes both the heron and crane prints found in Chicago, as well as a signed print of a deer, an unsigned chuban of Chinese Buddhist Lions (shishi), and a signed print of two oxen.

The oxen print, also found in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums (possibly the same impression), Yale University Art Gallery (unsigned), and illustrated in Kikuchi (unsigned), illustrates a similar composition and palette of two oxen (identified as one ox and one goat by Yale) beside blossoming red and white plum trees on a mustard-yellow ground against a dayflower blue sky. Their resonance suggests a tantalizing connection, perhaps the two designs are from a scarce (or incomplete) untitled Zodiac series. Surely the restrained compositions in which the animals exist in a spare landscape are evocative of the empty spaces populated by Harunobu's elegant beauties in some of his earliest works.

References:
Yoshida Teruji, Harunobu Zenshu, 1942, frontispiece (Chrysanthemums), p. 77 (Herons, Cranes), p. 101 (Deer), p. 112 (Shishi, Oxen)
Margaret O. Gentles, The Clarence Buckingham Collection, Volume II, Art Institute of Chicago, 1965, p. 45, no. 70 (Harunobu, Herons in the Snow), p. 107, no. 176 (Harunobu, Cranes at Waka-no-ura)
Sadao Kikuchi, A Treasury of Japanese Woodblock Prints: Ukiyo-e, 1969, no. 1411, Oxen, unsigned, attributed to Koryusai (unable to confirm photo credit to the Tokyo National Museum)
The British Museum, accession no. 1979,0305,0.53 (Moronobu, Complete Picture Book of Animals)
Harvard Art Museum, accession no. 1933.4.264 (Harunobu, Ox and Plum)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession nos. 21.4613 (Harunobu, Kingfisher and Morning Glories), 21.4614 (Harunobu, Herons in Snow), 21.4679 (Harunobu, Potted Chrysanthemums, ca. 1766), 21.4575 (Harunobu, Hares and Autumn Full Moon)
Yale University Art Gallery, accession no. 1999.127.1 (unsigned, Black Ox and White Goat in Spring, attributed to Koryusai)

(inv. no. C-3683)

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Suzuki Harunobu

ca. 1724-70

The Spell of Amorous Love
(Enshoku koi no urakata)

chuban orihon (folded album) with light grey cover delicately decorated with sumi ink irises and silver lines of mist, the title Enshoku koi no urakata, in black on rust-red paper slip; the forward with matching series title and a diagram with the Eight Divinatory Trigrams; the preface following the trigrams is signed Tenjiku Furai Sanjin, a pen name of the writer Hiraga Gennai (1728-1779) who was a friend of Harunobu, his text parodies Confucian classics as sexual edicts; followed by the twelve prints depicting erotic scenes throughout the seasons, most set in interiors that could be located in the pleasure quarters, ca. 1770

chuban orihon 7 1/2 by 5 in., 19.2 by 12.8 cm (folded)
each chuban yoko-e 7 1/2 by 9 7/8, 19 by 25.1 cm

The prints in this album do not have titles, text or dialogue to guide the viewer. Instead, we are allowed to piece together the story based on the visual clues provided, such as the neck of a shamisen in sheet six hints that the beauty holding a fan is likely a geisha. The view through the window of the figures walking in the rain is likely the Nihon Dike, which sets the scene in the second story of a building in or near the Yoshiwara. Although not specified, the twelve sheets seem to correspond with the twelve months of the year. In the first sheet we see a tray of prawns, a food associated with the New Year. The third sheet has a glimpse of a presentation that may be a Hina Doll display for Girl's Day, celebrated on the third day of the third month. The fourth sheet shows a flying cuckoo, a harbinger of spring. The fifth sheet shows the bottom half of a painting in red which would have been a depiction of the demon-queller Shoki, and image hung to ward off bad spirits on Boy's Day, celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month. The moon and chrysanthemums in eighth sheet and the same flower in the ninth sheet are autumnal themes. The last sheet shows folding screen decorated with mallard ducks in a snowy landscape and a kotatsu (heating table) to set the scene in a cold winter month.

Compared to other shunga the compositions in this album are relatively tame. There are no outrageous set-ups of unlikely situations or gravity-defying positions. Most scenes capture intimate, romantic moments in quiet quarters, with the exception of sheet seven which depicts a couple risking public exposure during the Tanabata Festival (celebrated in the seventh month) by hiding behind a bokasuiso (fire-prevention water tank). Half of the designs are actually abuna-e ('dangerous pictures'), suggestive, but not explicit.

Individual sheets from this series have been attributed to Harunobu or his followers Isoda Koryusai (ca. 1764-1789) and Ippitsusai Buncho (fl. ca. 1755-1790). Indeed, a case could be made for all particularly when considering the inconsistent cloud patterns. However, the consistent printing and color palette leaves no doubt that the plates of this orihon were produced en suite. See references below for examples.

This album published:
Klompmakers, Japanese Erotic Prints, pp. 26-51, cat. A1-A.12
Uhlenbeck and Winkel, Japanese Erotic Fantasies, 2005, p. 37, fig. 2 (sheet 7), p. 58, fig. 1 (trigrams diagram), pp. 89-90, cat. 14a-d
Highlights of Japanese Printmaking Part 4: Shunga, Scholten Japanese Art, 2014, cat. no. 15

References:
Riccar Art Museum (ed.), Exhibition of Ukiyo-e by Ippitsusai Buncho, 1978, no. 138 (sheet 4, attrib. to Buncho)
Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum, eds., Ippitsusai Buncho, Waseda University, 1991, p. 90, pl. 153 (sheet 4, attrib. to Buncho)
Hayakawa Monta and Shirakura Yoshihiko, Shunga: Japanese Erotic Art, 2009, p. 175, no. 95 (sheet 8, attrib. to Koryusai, and dated ca. 1776)
Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, www.mak.at, nos: KI 10560-1, KI 10560-2, KI 10639 (sheets 1, 5, 6, attrib. to Harunobu)

(inv. no. C-3681)

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Katsukawa Shuncho

fl. 1781 - 1801

New Year's Day at a Mansion in the Suburbs of Edo
(Edo no yashiki no shogatsu)

signed Shuncho ga with artist's seal Churinsha, and publisher's seal Sen-ichi-han (Izumiya Ichibei), ca. 1788

oban tate-e triptych 15 1/4 by 30 3/8 in., 38.7 by 77

A triptych illustrating a gathering of beauties at countryside villa. The pale pink blossoms on the plum tree in the upper right sheet suggest the timing is early spring, while the paper tassels tied along the edges of the verandah eves indicate this is a celebration of the New Year. At left, just inside the open shoji panels, two young girls arguing over a game of go, with a birdie and battledore discarded beside them on the porch and other elegant women standing or sitting nearby. In the foreground a small girl peers into a basin with turtles, and another girl stands near a dwarf pine holding a flowering plum branch. At the far right three beauties and a kamuro stand beside a cage containing cranes, one holding a battledore in her hands. In the middle distance we see a young man demonstrating calligraphy for two young women, and at the far distance are two torii gates and Mt. Fuji beyond.

This composition demonstrates a classic ukiyo-e pairing of conventional subjects with a decadent display of beautiful women. The pine tree, plum branches, and the bamboo at the left-hand edge are symbolic of longevity when depicted together, commonly known as “the three friends.” Both the crane and the tortoise, represented by the basin of turtles, were known to have long lives, the crane was even thought to live hundreds of years. The combination of these elements would have clearly communicated a traditional theme of longevity which would have fared well under the sometimes strict scrutiny of the authorities at the time. Within this acceptable setting, Shuncho was able to exhibit his elegant beauties of the pleasure quarters.

While complete triptychs of this era are indeed rare, this print is even more remarkable when one considers its astoundingly fine condition with well-preserved and consistent color.

References:
Harvard Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, accession no. 1928.14.152 (center sheet with fading)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession nos. 11.14760 (right sheet, Bigelow Collection ); and 21.5911, 21.5912, 21.5913 (Spaulding Collection, complete triptych purchased in 1913 from Frank Lloyd Wright in Japan)

(inv. no. C-3685)

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Hosoda Eishi

1756-1829

Viewing Cherry Blossoms at Asuka Hill

each sheet signed Eishi ga with publisher's tomo-e mark and square seal Eijudo han (Nishimura Yohachi of Eijudo), ca. 1789-90

oban tate-e triptych 14 3/8 by 29 1/2 in., 36.6 by 75 cm

This triptych depicting beauties enjoying cherry blossom viewing is a quintessential example representing the highpoint of Japanese woodblock print production frequently referred to as 'golden age' ukiyo-e. The parade of young women, modeling their elegant kimono fashions, stroll among several tea stalls. A banner or signboard on a teahouse in the distance identifies the establishment (or the specialty of their wares), Shigaraki, and a road marker along the path in the center sheet records gohyakuju ga (510). The location is Asuka Hill (Asakuyama), an area north of Edo famous for its cherry blossoms and frequently illustrated by Edo period artists. Asaku Hill was established as a public park approximately fifty years earlier in 1737 when the shogun Yoshimune arranged for the planting of hundreds of cherry trees to commemorate the founding of the nearby Oji Gongen Shrine. Although located at a significant distance from central Edo, the five-mile excursion rewarded visitors with cherry blossom viewing serviced by teahouses, and an expansive view to the north of farmland and rice paddies with Mount Tsukuba in the distance.

While 18th century classical bijin-ga prints with well-preserved color are rare enough, it is extremely unusual to find a multi-panel print of this level of quality and condition en suite. Individual sheets are reproduced in volume 2 of the Tokyo National Museum catalogue (no. 2249, right sheet); in Binyon's 1916 catalogue of Chinese and Japanese prints in the British Museum (no. 1, center sheet); and in a scarce catalogue of the 1910 exhibition of the John Hilditch collection in the City of Manchester, England (no. 325, left sheet). As such, Brandt's 1977 catalogue raisonné, Hosoda Eishi, 1756-1829, combines black and white photos from these three sources to illustrate the complete triptych.

References:
John Hilditch, Illustrated Catalogue of a Collection of Chinese Paintings, Japanese Paintings, and Colour Prints- Lent by John Hilditch, Esq, City Art Gallery, Manchester, exhibition catalogue, 1910, p. 36-37, no. 325
Laurence Binyon, A Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese Woodcuts Preserved in the Sub-Department of Oriental Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, 1916, no. 1 (center sheet)
Tokyo National Museum, Illustrated Catalogues of the Tokyo National Museum Ukiyo-e Prints, 1962, vol. II, no. 2249 (right sheet)
Klaus J. Brandt, Hosoda Eishi, 1756-1827, 1977, catalog p. 111, no. 32; illustration pl. 11, fig. 152, no. 32 (complete triptych)
Henry D. Smith II, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Illustrations by Hiroshige, Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1986, no. 17 (on Asaku Hill)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boson, accession no. 11.14037 (center sheet)
British Museum, registration no. 1906,1220,0.267 (center sheet)

(inv. no. C-3684)

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Utagawa Toyokuni I

1769-1825

Onoe Matsusuke (1744-1815) as Soga no Jasoku on the right; Nakamura Noshio II (1759-1800) as Yukinoto (the onnagata)
(Soga no Jasoku, Onoe Matsusuke, Yukinoto, Nakamura Noshio)

signed Toyokuni ga, with publisher's mark, tomoe (Nishimura Yohachi of Eijudo) and censor's seal kiwame (approved), ca. 1798

oban tate-e 15 1/2 by 10 1/8 in., 39.3 by 25.8 cm

Following the success of his series Portraits of Actors on Stage (Yakusha butai no sugata) published by Izumiya Ichibei starting in 1794, Toyokuni expanded his compositional repertoire by zooming in on his depictions of actors with half-length and 'big head' (okubi-e) portraits, a format which emerged in the late 1780s and became increasingly popular through the ensuing decade. In 1796, Toyokuni produced an untitled series of three-quarter length portraits of actors bearing an unidentified publisher's seal read Den (or Yamaden), and he revisited the three-quarters format two years later with another (far more scarce) untitled series issued by the well-established publisher, Nishimura Yohachi. The second series featured actors in pairs related to specific performances staged in 1798. The onnagata (actor in a female role) in this print, Nakamura Noshio II, was also illustrated in the 1796 series in a male role, his face here perhaps slightly fuller with the advance of years. An impression of this print (perhaps the only other one extant) distinguished by oxidation on Matsusuke's face (credited to an unknown private collector) is illustrated in Ukiyo-e Taikei which identifies actors and their roles in the play, Wakagoma norizome Soga performed at the Nakamuraza during the 3rd month of 1798.

Although kabuki prints by their very nature, generally related to specific performances, had a relatively short shelf life and were produced in limited quantities before being replaced by newer images, it is nevertheless hard to imagine why so few prints from this series have survived in comparison with the similar series produced only two years earlier with a virtually unknown publisher. Other extant prints from the 1798 series are found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, depicting Ichikawa Komazo II (1764-1838) with Nakayama Tomisaburo (1760-1819), in the National Museum of Asian Art from the Anne van Biema collection depicting Sanogawa Ichimatsu III (1784-1798) and Osagawa Tsuneyo (1753-1808), and in the Ainsworth collection in the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, Ohio, depicting Segawa Kikunojo III (1751-1810) and Arashi Sampachi (1750-1812). Kikunojo III makes another appearance paired with Ichikawa Yaozo III (1747-1818) from a performance at the Ichimura-za theater in the 11th lunar month of 1798 in a print found in the collection of H. George Mann, recently published in his narrative, Sixty Years with Japanese Prints.

References:
Friedrich Succo, Utagawa Toyokuni und Seine Zeit, 1924, no. 66 (ca. 1796 series)
Tokyo National Museum, Illustrated Catalogues of the Tokyo National Museum, Ukiyo-e Prints, 1962, vol. III, 2551-2553 (ca. 1796 series)
Sadao Kikuchi, et. al., Ukiyo-e Taikei: A Survey of Japanese Prints, Toyokuni, vol. IX, 1975, p. 100, no. 159 (this composition)
Matthi Forrer and Charlotte van Rappard-Boon, The Age of Utamaro: Japanese Prints c. 1790-1800, Catalogue of the Collection of Japanese Prints Part II, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, 1979, p. 135, no. 134 (ca. 1796 series)
Roger S. Keyes, Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Catalogue of the Mary A. Ainsworth Collection, Allen Memorial Museumof Art, Oberlin College, 1984, p. 37, fig. 28, cat. 328 (ca. 1798 series); p. 175, cat. 327 (ca. 1796 series)
Matthi Forrer and Charlotte van Rappard-Boon, The Beauty and the Actor, 1995, p. 83, nos. 74-75 (two examples from the ca. 1796 series; no. 75 depicting Nakamura Noshio II in a male role)
Ann Yonemura and Donald Keene, Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints in the Anne Van Biema Collection, 2022, p. 330, cat. 195
Andreas Marks, Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Compendium, 2010, p. 37, seal no. 01-100/391b (Tomoe); 01-124/U374a (Den)
Chiba City Museum of Art, Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, 2019, p. 149, no. 97 (ca. 1798 series)
H. George Mann, Sixty Years With Japanese Prints, 2021, p 262, no. 91 (ca. 1796 series) and no. 92 (ca. 1798 series)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. JP1387 (1798 series)

(inv. no. C-3686)

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Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806)

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)

Hosoda Eishi (1756-1829)

Kitao Shigemasa (1739-1820)

Tsutsumi Torin III (c. 1743-1820)

Hakuho Ekiji (or Ekishi, active ca. 1798)

Men's Stamping Dances
(Otoko toka)

deluxe kyoka bon (collection of comic verse) in orihon (folding accordion album) format, the dark blue covers painted with gold pine trees and horizontal bands of mist, with original title slip, Otoko toka, within an old protective brocade chitsu (portfolio) with hand-brushed paper label, Otoko toka, Kansei junen kan (Kansei 10 [1798], published), the portfolio label and its spine inscribed with Romanji title, Otoko doka, and Sotheby's lot tag no. 247 from 1992 Schlosser auction, with oval collector's seal Kemfuru (Kaempfer) inside the chitsu and again on the album preface; comprised of 39 unnumbered leaves, an anthology of poetry compilied by Asakusa-an Ichihito (1755-1821) with calligraphy by Kakei Rogyo (active. ca. 1798) interspersed with six double-page illustrations by Kitao Shigemasa (1739-1820), Tsutsumi Torin III (c. 1743-1820), Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806), Hakuho Ekiji (or Ekishi, active ca. 1798), Hosoda Eishi (1756-1829) and Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849); the two page (one leaf) preface signed Asakusa-an (Ichihito, 1755-1821) and sealed Ichindo, followed by one page introductory note by kyoka poet Ishikawa Masamochi (1754-1830) sealed Rokujuen with another seal unread, published by Tsutaya Juzaburo (Koshodo, 1750-1797), dated Kansei tsuchinoe-uma (cyclical date: elder brother earth, year of the horse [1798]), the final page with red collector's seal Getsumei so (Shigeo Sorimachi, 1901-1991); 1798

open 10 by 14 3/4 in., 25.2 by 37.6 cm
orihon: 10 by 7 3/4 in., 25.5 by by 19.8 cm

The title of this album, Otoko Toka (or Otoko Doka, variously translated as Men's Stamping/Stomping Dances, or Stamping Song of Men) refers to ancient court dances associated with the lunar New Year festivities as described by Toda in the Ryerson catalogue (and reprinted in Hillier's magnificent 1987 publication): "The festival called Toka no Sechiye consisted of two events; one for the night of the 15th of the 1st month with male dancers called otoko-doka, and the other for the night of the 16th with female dancers called Onna-doka." (Hillier, p. 446)

This anthology of New Year's kyoka verses is among the last of the great large-format deluxe poetry albums issued during the brief period between 1794 and 1798. The deluxe albums assembled during this high point were published by the firm of Tsutaya Juzaburo (1750-1797) and organized by leading poets of the day, principally Tsuburi no Hikaru (1754-1796) affiliated with the Yomo poetry group, and by the prominent kyoka poet Asakusa-an Ichihito (1755-1820) following the former's death in 1796. One of the distinctions of the large-format albums is that they were collaborative efforts: a compilation of kyoka from numerous contributors paired with illustrations provided by a number of different artists, presumably orchestrated by Tsutaya.

In his essay evaluating the brief period of large-format kyoka-bon production, "Poetry Albums of the Kansei Period," Matthi Forrer laments that as kyoka albums were comissioned privately and issued in limited numbers, surely many have been lost and are unknown to scholars and collectors. Noting that research based on what few have survived, "one could not say much more than that a number of large-format poetry albums illustrated by various artists were issued for consecutive years in the Kansei period." He regards 1794 as the beginning of the period, and concludes it with the publication of this anthology following the death of Tsutaya Juzaburo in 1797. Forrer utilized this very copy which was in the Kaempfer Collection at the time and included it in his appendix catalogued with the following description.

Pagination
39 folds [sheets], unnumbered
1 preface, signed Asakusaan, seal Ichindo, dated 1/1798
2 introductory note by Rokujuen (Yadoya Meshimori) stating that the poems were selected during a kyoka meeting at Okawabashi, led by Asakusaan (Ichindo); poetry
3 Kitao Shigemasa: The white horse presentation ceremony, signed Kitao Kosuisai ga
4-7 poetry
8 Tsutsumi Torin: Rain scene, a girl with umbrella by a house, signed Torin ga
9-12 poetry
13 Kitagawa Utamaro: A group of girls engaged in the preparation of a nightingale's food, signed Utamaro hitsu
14-20 poetry
21 Hakuho Ekiji: Seated court lady by flowering plum tree, signed Hakuho son Ekiji ga, seals Eki, ji
22-26 poetry
27 Hosoda Eishi: A group of women seated by a circular window overlooking a snow-covered landscape, signed Chobunsai Eishi zu, seal (kettle)
28-33 poetry
34 Katsushika Hokusai: A country scene with women by a bridge, signed Hokusai Sori ga
35-38 poetry
39 poetry, last two poems signed Asakusaan Ichindo; date Spring day 1798; calligraphy signed Kakei Rogyo sho, publisher Tsutuya Juzaburo, Toto, with address

Provenance:
Ex. Sorimachi Shigeo, (antiquarian book dealer, prominent ehon collector & scholar, 1901-1991), Tokyo
Ex. Heinz M. Kaempfer (1904-1986), The Hague
Sotheby's London, A Collection of Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books and Paintings, December 18, 1986, lot 320 (illustrated on front & back cover)
Ex. Leonard Benjamin Schlosser (1924-1991), New York
Sotheby's New York, Collection of Japanese Illustrated Books Including the Leonard B. Schlosser Collection of Japanese Illustrated Books, June 4, 1992, lot no. 247, color plates 18A-18E, and cover

References:
Laurence Binyon & J.J.O'Brien Sexton, A List of Choice Colour-Printed Books and Albums, in, Japanese Colour Prints, 1923, p. 223, no. 22 (of a chronological list of only 23 titles, the last published in 1801)
Louise Norton Brown, Block Printing & Book Illustration in Japan, 1924, p. 170 (re: Utamaro as contributor to poetry albums)
Kenji Toda, Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese and Chinese Illustrated Books in the Ryerson Library of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1931, p. 452
Huguette Beres, Utamaro: Estampes, livres illustres; catalogue dune exposition, 1977, no. 133
Shigeo Sorimachi, Catalogue of Japanese Illustrated Books and Manuscripts in the Spencer Collction of the New York Public Library, 1978, p. 116, no. 486 (titled Kyoka Otoko Doka [Comic Poems in the Spring], 1 f. scr. illustrated by Utamaro, Shigemasa, Hokusai, Eishi, Torin)
Jack Hillier, The Art of Hokusai in Book Illustration, 1980, pp. 32-33, no. 18
Jack Hillier & Lawrence Smith, Japanese Prints: 300 Years of Albums and Books, British Museum Publications, 1980, p. 91, illus. p. 92, no. 75 (titled Otoko-doka [The Stamping Song of Men])
Matthi Forrer, Poetry Albums of the Kansei Period, in, Essays on Japanese Art Presented to Jack Hillier, 1982, pp. 41-43; and p. 54 (this copy catalogued)
R. de Bruijn, In Memoriam: Heinz M. Kaempfer, in, Andon 20, Vol. 5, 1985, no. 20
Yoroshi Kudo, Sorimachi Shigeo and His Rare-Book Cart, in, Japan Quarterly, vol. 33, iss. 2, April 1, 1986
Jack Hillier, The Art of the Japanese Book, Volume One, 1987, pp. 445-448, (titled Otoko-doka [The Stamping Song of Men]), nos. 295 (Utamaro) and color plate 72 (Ekiji), both from Pulverer Collection
Jack Hillier, The Japanese Picture Book: A Selection from the Ravicz Collection, 1991, p. 81 (titled Otoko-doka [The Stamping Song of Men]), pl. 76 (Eishi)
Roger S. Keyes, Inventory of Japanese Printed Books in the Spencer Collection, in, Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan, New York Public Library, 2006, p. 300 (titled Otoko doka)
Kobunso: a bookstore without a door, Graphic Arts Collection, Special Collections, Firestone Library, Princeton University, Aquisitions [blog], April 4, 2017

Considering the beauty of the illustrations found within this album, it is regrettable, but perhaps not surprising, that in the distant past kyoka-bon were often disassembled in order to disperse the individual sheets, particularly the designs by sought-after artists such as Utamaro and Hokusai. As such, while single sheets from Otoko toka are found in several notable collections, few albums survived intact, and based on their descriptions it seems likely that many do not have the same configuration of accompanying text and poetry.

Collections (individual sheets):
Art Institute of Chicago, Clarence Buckingham Collection, reference no. 1928.1035 (Utamaro)
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty Collection, accession nos. J2535, J2767, J2782 (Utamaro, Hokusai, and Ekigi, respectively)
Honolulu Museum of Art, Michener collection, accession no. 13698 (Utamaro)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. JP970 (Utamaro)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Bigelow Collection, accession no. 11.25192 (Eishi), Ross Collection, no. 06.809 (Hokusai), Spaulding Collection, no. 21.6361 (Utamaro)

Collections (albums):
Art Institute of Chicago, Martin A. Ryerson Collection, reference no. 2022.1161
The British Museum, Jack Hillier Collection, no. 1979,0305,0.156 1979,0305,0.156 (Otoko toka, album of 16 leaves)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Bigelow Collection,
accession no. 2011.794 (Otoko toka, album of 16 leaves)
National Museum of Asian Art, Gerhard Pulverer Collection, accession no. FSC-GR-780.853 (49 leaves, variations in sequence)
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection, Sorimachi no. 486 (not digitized)

(inv. no. C-3680)

SOLD

Keisai Eisen

1790-1848

The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido Road: No. 41, Nojiri, Distant View of the Ina River Bridge
(Kisoji no eki: yonju ichi, Nojiri, Inakawa-bashi enbo: Yonju ichi, Nojiri, Inakawa-bashi enbo)

signed Keisai ga, followed by red publisher's seals Takenouchi and Hoeido (Takenouchi Magohachi of Hoeido), numbered in red seal, yonju-ichi (no. 41) and titled Kisoji no eki, Nojiri, Inakawa-bashi enbo, censor's seal kiwame (approved), and publisher's seal Take on the bottom left margin, ca. 1835-36

oban yoko-e 10 by 15 1/8 in., 25.3 by 38.5 cm

Marks and Paget note that while the Nojiri station was located in the Kiso River valley, Eisen chose to illustrate a view of Ina River, a tributary of the Kiso which was close to the previous station, Suhara. Eisen based his composition on an illustration of the area by Nishimura Chuwa published in 1805 in volume 3 of the guidebook by Akisato Ritoh, Views of Famous Sights along the Kiso Road (Kisoji meisho zue). Eisen's imaginative composition exaggerates the short bridge over the gently flowing Ina River into a cascading waterfall bursting forth from a narrow precipice below a steeply arched bridge (the negative space beneath the span forming an unmistakeable visual reference to the peak of Mt. Fuji), the green terrain fading into pale blue bokashi with an un-inked area along the bottom edge suggesting rising mist. To the right, travelers ascend the narrow road approaching the bridge, with geese descending below the span into the valley beyond. At far left, the stairs to the Joshoji temple emerge from a haze of grey bokashi with overlapping blue and grey mountain peaks in the distance.

This is a remarkably fine and early impression of this composition which likely was printed very early in the run, likely a variation of what Marks and Paget identify as the A edition. Later impressions omit the descending geese, the bokashi on the lower hills, and the artist's signature, and later printings published by Yamadaya eliminate most bokashi and barely print the distant mountains.

References:
Keisai Eisen Ten, Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 1997, p. 71, no. 184
Keisai Eisen: Artist of the Floating World, Chiba City Museum of Art, 2012, p. 299; Eisen Nishiki-e Index, nos. 752-19
Andreas Marks & Rhiannon Paget, Hiroshige & Eisen: Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido, 2017, p. 130, no. 41; Colour Variations, p. 212
British Museum, London (britishmuseum.org), museum no. 1941,0208,0.5 (similar impression)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org), accession nos. 11.2002, 11.25651, 11.25652, 21.4817
Waseda University Library, Kisoji meisho zue, 1805, vol. 3, spread 17, call no. E0206

(inv. no. C-3687)

$25,000

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

Eight Views of Omi: Night Rain at Karasaki
(Omi Hakkei: Karasaki no yau)

signed Hiroshige ga with publisher's seal Eikyudo (Yamamotoya Heikichi), and partially trimmed censor's seal at lower left margin kiwame (approved), ca. 1835

9 3/4 by 14 1/4 in., 24.9 by 36.2 cm

Surely among the most lyrical of Hiroshige's compositions, this dramatic view of a curtain of rain enveloping the ancient pine at Karasaki is considered one of the artist's masterpieces. As Hillier so aptly described in 1960: "This is one of the most daring of Hiroshige's concepts, for the realisation of which he inspired the colour-printer to bring of a technical triumph--in fact, at first flush the print might be thought as much the printer's masterpiece as Hiroshige's. But the imaginative approach was the artist's, and he alone, with his knowledge of what the medium could achieve, foresaw the possibilities of the subject and guided the printer to give the conception reality." And in his catalogue accompanying the landmark exhibition at the Royal Academy in London, Hiroshige, Forrer notes that the publisher Yamamotoya Heikichi advertised the sophisticated series as 'in ink with light color washes' and asserts that Eight Views is the artist's "most coherent and impressive" series. (Forrer, p. 19)

The print references the kyoka poem by Konoe Nobutada:

Yo no ame ni
oto o yuzurite
yukaze o
yoso ni natatsuru
karasaki no matsu

Yielding to the sound in the evening rain
and drawing near to the evening wind,
he grows famous:
the pine tree of Karasaki

Although this coveted series was not issued in quantities comparable to Hiroshige's slightly earlier Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido, there are nevertheless notable variations among surviving examples of this design. Indeed, it is remarkable how the original intention of a limited palette could yield a complex array of creative interpretations once in the hands of master printers. Opinions are largely divided with little consensus regarding the order in which printing changes may have been initiated as comparisons of extant impressions reveal few convincing inflection points. The primary differences are found in the handling of the dark bokashi on the boughs of the pine, the color of the stone retaining wall (either grey or blue), and the appearance (or disappearance) of Mount Fuji in the distance to the right of the tree and to the left of the boat masts.

References:
Jack Hillier, Landscape Prints of Old Japan (Grabhorn Collection), The Book Club of California, 1960, no. 39
Sadao Kikuchi, A Treasury of Japanese Woodblock Prints: Ukiyo-e, 1963, no. 1283
HIROSHIGE: A James A. Michener Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1991, p.66, no. III-4-A
Someya Seiichiro, HIROSHIGE: Ukiyo-e Collected by Frank Lloyd Wright, Exhibition Catalogue, Bun You Associates, 1996, p.60, no. 109
Asano Shugo et al., Ukiyo-e: A Journey Through the Floating World, 1997, p. 200, no. 300 & no. 301 (all-blue variant)
Matthi Forrer, HIROSHIGE: Prints and Drawings, Royal Academy of Arts, London, and Prestel-Verlag, Munich and New York, 1997, pp. 19-21l no. 71 (and poem translation)
Chris Uhlenbeck & Marije Jansen, Hiroshige: Shaping the Image of Japan, 2008, p. 54, no. 48
Masato Naito & Kazutaka Higuchi, Vision and Reminiscence of Edo: Masterpieces from the Takahashi Seiichiro Collection of Ukiyo-e Prints, 2009, p. 144, no. 252
Kubo Tsunehiko and Sons Collection: Ukiyo-e Hanga Shukan, Izumishi Kuboso Memorial Museum, 2009, p. 96, no. 90-1
Goto Kenichiro, Kubo Tsunehiko and Sons Collection, Second Term: Ukiyo-e Hanga Edo-e Hen, 2009, p. 117, no. 95-4
Art Institute of Chicago, accession no. 1925.3410
The British Museum, registration nos. 1907,0531,0.586, and 1941,0208,0.4 (green pine tree)
Chazen Museum of Art, John H. Van Vleck Collection, accession no. 1980.1210
Keio University Libraries, accession no. 200X@5-15(1)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org), accession nos. 06.885, *11.2020 (deaccessioned in 2019), 11.2094, 11.2129, 21.6809, 21.6810, 34.289, 42.567, 53.2736

(inv. no. C-3688)

SOLD

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

Famous Places in the Sixty Odd Provinces: Iki Province, Shisa
(Rokuju yoshu meisho zue: Iki Shisa)

signed Hiroshige hitsu, with publisher's seal at lower left within the composition, Koshihei (Koshimuraya Heisuke), censor's seals aratame (examined), and date seal Tatsu-san (year of the dragon [1856], 3rd month)

oban tate-e 14 1/4 by 10 in., 36.2 by 25.5 cm

A heavy snow blankets the evening view of Imari Bay from the Kitamatsu ura Peninsula with Iki Island on the distant horizon. In the lower left corner the village of of Shima is tucked into the bay, protected by a stand of pine trees. This early impression displays a fine woodgrain pattern with an oblong cascading knot seen in almost mirror image of the distinctive steep hill dominating the lower half of the composition, surmounted by a lonely pine on the rounded hilltop.

References:
Yamaguchi Keizaburo, Meihin Soroimono Ukiyo-e, Vol. XII: Hiroshige III, 1991, no. 101
Marije Jansen, Hiroshige's Journey in the 60-odd Provinces, 2004, p. 164, cat. no. 68
Ichikawa Shinya, The Hara Yasusaburo Collection: HIROSHIGE VIVID Exhibition Catalogue, 2016, p. 124, no. I-68
Art Institute of Chicago, accession nos. 1925.3770, and 1965.1002
The British Museum, Ernest Abraham Hart Collection, registration no. 1902,01212,0.397.10
Chazen Museum of Fine Art, Abigail Van Vleck Collection, accession no. 1984.701
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org), from the Bigelow Collection, accession nos.11.16920, 11.26265, 21.9543, RES.53.186

(inv. no. C-3692)

SOLD

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Suwa Bluff, Nippori
(Meisho Edo hyakkei: Nippori Suwanodai)

signed Hiroshige ga, with publisher's seal on lower left margin, Shitaya Uo-Ei (Uoya Eikichi), censor's seal aratame (examined), and date seal, Tatsu-go (year of the dragon [1856], 5th month)

oban tate-e 14 1/4 by 9 1/2 in., 36.2 by 24.1 cm

Built in 1635, the Suwa Shrine is located in Nippori, a scenic area with numerous temples and shrines which in the Edo Period was known as the Temple Gardens (Jin Rinsen) for the Flower Temples (Hanimidera). The lavishly landscaped gardens were popular year-round, particularly in the spring for cherry blossom viewing (hanami), and in the fall for the blaze of autumnal colors. Within the shrine precincts a plateau offered a panorama to the northeast across the Great Kanto plains. On the horizon, the 'male' and 'female' peaks of Mount Tsukuba rise to the right, while the indistinct silhouette of the Nikko Range (Nikkoren) tapers off to the left.

References:
Henry D. Smith II, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Illustrations by Hiroshige, George Braziller & Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1986, no. 15
Yamaguchi Keizaburo, Meihin Soroimono Ukiyo-e, Vol. X: Hiroshige I, 1991, no. 60
Mikhail Uspensky, One Hundred Views of Edo by Ando Hiroshige, 1997, p. 48, no. 15
Melanie Trede and Lorenz Bichler, Hiroshige: One Hundred Views of Edo, 2007, p. 80, no. 15
Goto Kenichiro, Kubo Tsunehiko and Sons Collection, Second Term: Ukiyo-e Hanga Edo-e Hen, 2009, p. 120, no. 97-15
Ichikawa Shinya, The Hara Yasusaburo Collection: HIROSHIGE VIVID Exhibition Catalogue, 2016, p. 225, no. II-42
Art Institute of Chicago, accession no. 1925.3754
The British Museum, registration no. 1960,1220,0.685
Chazen Museum of Art, Van Vleck Collection, accession nos. 1980.1593 and 1984.792
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org), accession no. 11.35843

(inv. no. C-3690)

SOLD

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Distant View of Kinryuzan
(Meisho Edo hyakkei: Azumabashi Kinryuzan endo)

signed Hiroshige ga, with publisher's seal on lower left margin, Shitaya Uo-Ei (Uoya Eikichi), censor's seal aratame (examined), and date seal Mi-hachi (year of the snake [1857], 8th month)

oban tate-e 14 1/4 by 9 1/2 in., 36.1 by 24.2 cm

A pleasure boat departing from the reedy shallows at Mukojima on the Sumida River heads towards the mouth of the San'ya Canal. The shower of flower petals caught in a breeze indicate that it is cherry blossom season, and the boat passengers, including a geisha seated at the far left, have been enjoying a springtime outing in the scenic area around Mimeguri Shrine. The glowing crimson-red bokashi of the sun setting behind Mount Fuji on the distant horizon to the southwest closes the day.

In the middle distance the roof of the huge main hall and five story pagoda of the Kinryuzan Temple rise above the surrounding structures with the Azuma Bridge to the left. Initially known as the Okawa ('great river') Bridge, it was built in 1774 and was the northernmost span over the Sumida River which connected to a road to the Azuma Temple. Maintenance of the bridge was funded by a toll of 2 mon collected from everyone except samurai.

References:
Henry D. Smith II, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Illustrations by Hiroshige, George Braziller & Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1986, no. 39
Yamaguchi Keizaburo, Meihin Soroimono Ukiyo-e, Vol. X: Hiroshige I, 1991, no. 84
Mikhail Uspensky, One Hundred Views of Edo by Ando Hiroshige, 1997, p. 96, no. 39
Melanie Trede and Lorenz Bichler, Hiroshige: One Hundred Views of Edo, 2007, p. 128, no. 39
Goto Kenichiro, Kubo Tsunehiko and Sons Collection, Second Term: Ukiyo-e Hanga Edo-e Hen, 2009, p. 123, no. 97-38
Ichikawa Shinya, The Hara Yasusaburo Collection: HIROSHIGE VIVID Exhibition Catalogue, 2016, p. 236, no. II-53 (re: Azuma Bridge)
Art Institute of Chicago, accession no. 1938.536
The British Museum, registration no. 1948,0410,0.73
Chazen Museum of Art, John H. Van Vleck Collection, accession no. 1980.1618
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org), accession nos. 11.16729, 11.35836, 11.36876.29

(inv. no. C-3689)

$25,000

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Ichigaya Hachiman Shrine
(Meisho Edo hyakkei: Ichigaya Hachiman)

signed Hiroshige ga, with publisher's seal on lower left margin, Shitaya Uo-Ei (Uoya Eikichi), and date seal, Uma-ju (year of the horse [1858], 10th month)

oban tate-e 14 1/4 by 10 3/8 in., 36.1 by 26.3 cm

Perched on a small hill across from the embankment of the outer moat of Edo Castle, the Hachiman Shinto shrine in Ichigaya featured a theater within the shrine precincts and was well-known as a locale favored by prostitutes offering their services.

Bearing a censor seal dated one month after Hiroshige died suddenly from cholera in the 9th lunar month of 1858, this is one of three designs from the series which some scholars attribute to Hiroshige II. Although it is entirely possible that the design was produced by Hiroshige before his untimely death, scholars have noted a slight change in the signature on the three designs, and the employment of distinctively wider suyarigasumi bands of stylized clouds on this and one other of the designs, Ueno Yamashita. That said, while there is some consensus that the third, Bikuni Bridge in Snow, appears to be the work of a different artist, presumably Utagawa Hiroshige (Shigenobu, 1826-1869), scholars are divided on question of Ueno Yamashita and this design.

References:
Henry D. Smith II, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Illustrations by Hiroshige, George Braziller & Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1986, no. 41 (no. 12 & no. 114, re: Hiroshige II)
Yamaguchi Keizaburo, Meihin Soroimono Ukiyo-e, Vol. X: Hiroshige I, 1991, no. 86
Mikhail Uspensky, One Hundred Views of Edo by Ando Hiroshige, 1997, p. 100, no. 41
Melanie Trede and Lorenz Bichler, Hiroshige: One Hundred Views of Edo, 2007, p. 132, no. 41
Goto Kenichiro, Kubo Tsunehiko and Sons Collection, Second Term: Ukiyo-e Hanga Edo-e Hen, 2009, p. 123, no. 97-40
Ichikawa Shinya, The Hara Yasusaburo Collection: HIROSHIGE VIVID Exhibition Catalogue, 2016, p. 208, no. II-25
Art Institute of Chicago, accession nos. 1939.1415, and 1965.1043 The British Museum, registration no. 1906,1220,0.644
Chazen Museum of Art, Johm H. Van Vleck Collection, accession no. 1980.1620
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org), accession nos. 11.17055, 11.35851, 11.36876.30, 11.45662

(inv. no. C-3691)

$25,000