Chikanobu(2)

Design:

Toyohara Chikanobu (1838-1912)

Title:

Beauty no. 18 in the Shin Bijin (True Beauties) series

Size:

30.2 x 21.2 cm (aiban)

Original woodblock print

Photography:

Theo Janssen

Enlargement

Series title in bottom margin:

Character	Reading	Meaning	Translation

人	jin	person
美	bi	beautiful
真	shin	truth	True beauties

Artist’s signature in bottom margin:

Character	Reading	Meaning	Translation

葉	yō	leaf
修	shū	discipline
周	chika	circumference	Yōshū
延	nobu	prolong	Chikanobu

Printing and publishing dates, publisher’s address and name, and number in series in left margin:

Character	Reading	Meaning	Translation

明	mei	light	Printed in the
治	ji	government	Meiji era,

三	san	three
十	jū	ten
一	ichi	one	the 31^th year
年	nen	year	(= 1898),

三	san	three	the 3^rd month
月	gatsu	month	(= March 1898),

三	san	three
日	ka	day
印	in	stamp	and the 3^rd day
刷	satsu	print	(= March the 3^rd, 1898).

今	kon	now
月	getsu	month

七	nano	seven	Published
日	ka	day	in the same
発	hatsu	emit	month,
行	kō	go	on its 7^th day,

臨	rin	confront
写	sha	copy	by copier,

印	in	stamp
刷	satsu	print	printer,

兼	neru	combine
発	hatsu	emit
行	kō	go
者	sha	person	and publisher,

日	ni	sun
本	hon	origin	located at
橋	hashi	bridge	Nihonbashi
区	ku	district	district,

室	muro	greenhouse
町	chō	quarter	Muro quarter,

三	san	three
丁	chō	house block
目	me	count suffix	3^rd house block,

九	yū	nine
番	ban	number
地	chi	earth, land	number 9,

秋	aki	autumn
山	yama	mountain	Akiyama

武	bu	military
右	u	right
エ	e	artisan
門	mon	gate	Buemon.

十	jū	ten	No.
八	hachi	eight	eighteen.

The harmful effects of exposing another copy of this print to natural light for a period of 20 years (which I unfortunately did) can clearly be seen here.

References

Newland, Amy, and Uhlenbeck, Chris, Eds. (1990). Ukiyo-e to Shin Hanga. New York: Mallard Press.

Stephens, Amy (1993). The New Wave: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection. London: Bamboo Publishing.

Provenance: Chris Uhlenbeck’s Hotei Japanese Prints