5212 - 5421 FINE ARTS - JAPANESE PRINTS, DRAWINGS and ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, ORIENTAL ARTS
- Slightly foxed/ soiled; annot. in ink on upper pastedown. Binding worn.
= With incorrect handwritten title-strip in brush and ink reading Edo meisho Utamaro-ga (Famous Places in Edo, drawn by UTAMARO).
AND 1 other ehon (sl. soiled).
= Chaïkin, p.150: "On the day of the battle in the Yellow Sea, before the start, two doves came flying to our Navy, and in the evening, after the battle, even during the battle, a falcon flew in and settled on the Takachiho's mast, as a sign of good omen. The bird was caught and later presented to the Emperor, at his headquarters. It was fully unexpected and taken as an omen of victory. The flight of crows was regarded as standing for the downfall of the Chinese".
= The Battle of Pyongyang was the second major land battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on 15 September 1894 in Pyongyang, Korea between the forces of Meiji Japan and Qing China.
- Middle leaf trifle duststained. Otherwise fine.
- Both tipped onto mount in upper right (and 1x also lower left) corner; both w. fold 7-8 mm. from right edge; one print sl. dam. (partly restored) along left edge.
= Probably part of a series/ polyptych.
- One print w. a few sm. holes along left margin, remnants of white paint(?) on verso and a slight fold in lower right corner; both prints w. a fold line 1 cm. from the left margin. Both fine impressions.
= Two panels from a triptych or polyptych.
- Both w. closed wormhole at top edge; one print tipped onto mount along top and w. fold along left margin and a few creases along right margin and in lower right corner.
- With several (closed) binding- and wormholes; w. light white stripe along top and bottom; sl. soiled along bottom edge.
Idem. (Actor seated on a bench holding a pipe). Col. woodcut ôban, signed Gototei Kunisada-ga, publisher Eikyûdô, w. kiwame seal, 1832.
- Edges trimmed, lacks portion along right edge; sl. soiled.
- Paper remnant on verso along left edge, sl. shining through.
= Part of the series or pentatych, showing the Five Gallants.
- Cut to the image; fine.
= Part of the series Tokaido gojusan-tsugi no uchi (The 53 Stations of the Tokaido), actors in combination with the 53 stations.
AND 6 others by the same, all w. various defects.
- Trifle foxed.
= Part of the series Mitate Sanjûrokku sen (Matches for thirty-six selected poems). Gengyo Miyagi designed the still lifes in the upper part.
- All (sl.) wormholed and trifle soiled, particularly around edges.
= All three showing two characters from the play Higashiyama sakura zôshi. The Ferryman Jinpei is depicted in two of the prints: seated by a braisier in a straw hut, and mid-attack with a cleaver. The other print shows the character Asakura Tôgo, cloaked and donning a large hat, biting his nails in fear. The prints are undoubtedly from the same series, but considering the fact that there are two different publishers indicated, and the same character is shown twice, it is unclear if any of the prints were part of a diptych.
- Both panels sl./ trifle stained (particularly left panel) and w. some closed wormholes (unobtrusive); left panel w. a vertical crease.
AND 1 other col. woodcut ôban by the same, depicting a (male?) courtesan and a devoted customer (mounted on thick paper, w. some closed binding holes).
- Partly sl. fingersoiled/ rubbed; blank margins of col. woodcut lvs. trimmed.
= Leaves from an ehon titled Koizumô magai jûnite shohen.
- Bottom third w. some brown stains; sl. wrinkled/ creased; w. offset rectangle in red ink.
= Depicting one of the Seven Lucky Gods, Fukurokujû, in an unidentified play. Right panel of a diptych.
Idem. (Syllable "Yo" for Yoi Kôshin). Col. woodcut ôban, signed Toyokuni-ga, publ. Yamaguchiya Tôbei, 1856.
- Margins cut sl. short (not affecting image), resulting in loss of publishing information on the left side; doubled w. thin Japanese; two (sm.) wormholes; sl. fingersoiled/ rubbed in lower and upper right corners.
= From the series Seisho nanatsu iroha (Seven Calligraphic Models for each Character in the Kana Syllabary), depiciting actors Onoe Kikujirô II as Ochiyo and Nakamura Fukusuke I as Hanbei in an unidentified play.
AND 1 other mediocre copy by the same.
- With three closed wornholes (unobtrusive) and a sm. crease in blank upper margin. Otherwise fine.
Morikawa, Chikashige (act. 1869-1882). (Ono no Michikaze watching a frog leap onto a willow branch). Col. woodcut ôban diptych w. gauffrage, signed Morikawa Chikashige-hitsu w. red toshidama ring, publ. unread, 1882.
- Right panel partly sl. browned and w. brown pattern (offsetting from another print?) in the centre. Otherwise fine.
- Doubled w. Japanese; w. a few (all but one) closed tiny wormholes. = Left panel of a diptych.
Yoshifuji (1828-1887). Kanadehon chûshingura jûnidanme (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers, no. 12). Col. woodcut ôban, signed Yoshifuji-ga, publ. Tsujiokaya Bunsuke, w. aratame date seal, 1862.
- Slightly worn in lower left corner; trifle soiled.
AND 2 other col. woodcut ôban, i.a. HIROSHIGE (1797-1858). Matsuchiyama Saruwaka-machi Kinryûzan (Saruwaka-machi District and Kinryûzan Temple seen from Matsuchiyama). Signed Hiroshige-ga, w. censor seals and date seal, 1853 (from Edo meisho (Famous Places in Edo); margins cut off).
- Middle panel of a triptych. Tipped onto mount at upper corners; w. a wormhole and a few stains along upper edge.
Idem. (Heian-period court scene). Col. woodcut ôban, signed ichiyûsai Toyokuni-ga, publisher Miriya Jihei, w. two censor seals, 1847-1848.
- Mounted on paper along top; w. horizontal fold in centre; sm. dam. spot at right edge; a few light brown spots.