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Meiji prints

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	Design:	Yōshū Chikanobu (1838-1912)
	Title:	Beauty No. 18 in the Shin Bijin (True Beauties) series (here is a concise overview of all 36 prints in this series)
	Size:	30.2 x 21.2 cm (aiban)
	Original woodblock print
	Photography:	Theo Janssen

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Enlargement

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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 31th year
年	nen	year	(= 1898),
三	san	three	the 3rd month
月	gatsu	month	(= March 1898),
三	mi-	three
日	ka	day
印	in	stamp	and the 3rd day
刷	satsu	print	(= March the 3rd, 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 7th day,
臨	rin	confront
写	sha	copy	by copier,
印	in	stamp
刷	satsu	print	printer,
兼	ken	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	machi	quarter	Muro quarter,
三	san	three
丁	chō	house block
目	me	count suffix	3rd 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
衞	ei	defense
門	mon	gate	Buemon.
十	jū	ten	No.
八	hachi	eight	eighteen.

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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.

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References

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

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

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Provenance: Chris Uhlenbeck’s Hotei Japanese Prints