Edo prints
| Design: | Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) | |||||
| Title: | Above and below Ryōgoku bridge | |||||
| Size: | 37.9 x 25.3 cm (ōban) | |||||
| Posthumous printing from newly cut woodblocks | ||||||
| Photography: | Jacques Commandeur |
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Originally released ca. 1795-6 by publisher Ōmiya Gonkurō, this version was published around the 1920s by publisher and designer Hashiguchi Goyō (1880-1921) from newly carved woodblocks.
Three ladies are talking and commenting on the scenery below Ryōgoku bridge. On their right we see the paraphernalia of a water seller. These peddlers sold cool, clean water from distant fresh-water springs. This water, which was slightly sweetened, was especially welcome during the hot days of summer.
This is the third print in a spectacular hexaptych of woodblock prints. A simultaneous view of the prints in this hexaptych can be seen here.
Artist’s signature on middle pillar of the railing of Ryōgoku bridge:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 歌 | uta | poem | |
| 麿 | maro | you | Drawn by |
| 筆 | hitsu | writing brush | Utamaro |
Black Iwa seal on the same railing as well as rectangular seal 23-068 of the original publisher Ōmiya Gonkurō containing his name and address: Hon Ōmiya Asakusa Kayamachi. See Marks (2011, p.69).
Red rectangular Goyo publisher seal in left margin of the print.
References
- Asano, Shūgō, and Clark, Timothy (1995). The passionate art of Kitagawa Utamaro (2 volumes in slipcase). Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun.
- Collia-Suzuki, Gina (2009). The Complete Woodblock Prints of Kitagawa Utamaro. A Descriptive Catalogue. Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom: Nezu Press.
- Kobayashi, Tadashi (1993). Utamaro. Portraits from the Floating World. Tokyo: Kodansha International.
- Marks, Andreas (2011). Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Compendium. Leiden: Hotei Publishing.
Provenance: Chris Uhlenbeck’s Hotei Japanese Prints