Edo prints
| Design: | Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) | |||||
| Title: | Enjoying the cool on the banks of the Sumida river (left) | |||||
| Size: | 36.5 x 25.2 cm (ōban) | |||||
| Posthumous printing from newly cut woodblocks | ||||||
| Photography: | Jacques Commandeur |
|
|
Originally published ca. 1795-6 by publisher Yamaguchiya Chūsuke, this version published around the 1950s by publisher Takamizawa from newly carved woodblocks.
Artist’s signature in lower right print area:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 歌 | uta | poem | |
| 麿 | maro | you | Drawn by |
| 筆 | hitsu | writing brush | Utamaro |
Red Takamizawa seal on verso of the print:
|
in which the kanji read:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 高 | taka | high | |
| 見 | mi(ru) | see | |
| 澤 | sawa | marsh | Published by |
| 版 | han | edition | Takamizawa |
The bridge in the background - packed with people - is Ryōgoku bridge crossing the Sumida river in Edo, current day Tokyo. The boy in the foreground is carrying a paper lantern upon which is written Ōnoshi, suggesting that he is pointing at - and about to escort the two young ladies to - the restaurant owned by Ōnoshi Tomihachi at Yanagibashi located on the west bank of the Sumida river.
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.
Provenance: Ukiyoe Gallery Woodblock Prints