Ikeda Terukata Edo no Nishiki Front cover in Kees Berbee collection

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Meiji prints

Design:

Ikeda Terukata (1883-1921)

Album/series title:

Edo no Nishiki (Brocade pictures of Edo) in the Kees Berbee collection

Size:

24.6 x 18.2 cm

Photography:

Jacques Commandeur

Ikeda Terukata Edo no Nishiki Front cover

This is the front cover of Ikeda Terukata’s Edo no Nishiki album in the collection of Kees Berbee^*). Prints from his album are illustrated and discussed in Newland (2021), see below for the full reference.

There are a number of interesting differences between the album in the Kees Berbee (KB) collection and the one in mine (JC):

The KB album has a much nicer and more elaborately decorated cover than the JC album.

Unlike the JC album, the KB album has a red title slip located in the middle of the front cover which is - apart from the Japanese text - completely identical to three other yoko-e folding albums issued by Akiyama Buemon: Yaekasumi, Imayō Bijin, and Katei no Hana.

In line with all the other similar folding albums issued by Akiyama Buemon and Matsuki Heikichi, the KB album only contains twelve prints, which are moreover in a slightly different order than in the JC album. Compared to the KB album, the JC album contains the following three additional prints: Tediousness, Flirting beauty on a mission, and Flower letter.

Also in line with all the other similar folding albums issued by Akiyama Buemon and Matsuki Heikichi, in the KB album six prints are located on the front side of the “accordeon”, and six prints on its back side; in the JC album all fifteen prints are located on the front side of the “accordeon”.

The title print with the two fans in the JC album and the KB album are identical, except that the table of contents containing the Japanese titles of the individual prints is missing in the title print of the KB album:

Ikeda Terukata Edo no Nishiki Title page in Kees Berbee collection

There also are some differences between the prints themselves. Mostly these are differences in colour, as can be seen when comparing the Summer festival print in the JC album with that in the KB album for example:

Ikeda Terukata Edo no Nishiki Summer festival print in Kees Berbee collection

The most striking difference however is that the two boats on the river visible in the distance of the Seasonal rain print in the JC album are absent in the Seasonal rain print in the KB album:

Ikeda Terukata Edo no Nishiki Seasonal rain print in Kees Berbee collection

The latter image also shows one other difference between the two albums: unlike in the JC album, each print in the KB album is protected by a half-transparent sheet of paper.

References

Newland, Amy Reigle (2021). Printed and painted. The Meiji art of Ogata Gekkō (1859-1920). Leiden: Hotei Publishing.

^*) With many thanks to Kees Berbee for allowing me to take picures of his Edo no Nishiki album and to add them to my website.