Edo prints
| Design: | Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) | |||||
| Title: | Hokusai manga, Volume 1 | |||||
| Size: | 24.4 x 16.3 cm | |||||
| Posthumous printing from the original woodblocks | ||||||
| Photography: | Jacques Commandeur |
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Originally released in 1814 in Nagoya by publisher Eirakuya Tōshirō, whose firm name was Tōhekidō. This is a later impression of great print quality by publisher Yoshikawa Hanshichi of the third edition released by Eirakuya Tōshirō in 1828.
Orange book cover with embossed Chinese pattern.
Title printed in red on a white slip on the book cover:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 葛 | katsu | arrowroot | |
| 飾 | shika | decorate | Katsushika |
| 為 | i | change | |
| 一 | itsu | one | one year old again |
| 遺 | i | leave behind | |
| 墨 | boku | black ink | brushwork |
| 北 | hoku | north | |
| 斎 | sai | room | |
| 漫 | man | random | Random sketches |
| 画 | ga | drawing | of Hokusai |
| 初 | shō | first | |
| 編 | hen | volume | First volume |
| 全 | zen | all | All in one |
This is the title page of the third edition of Volume 1 of the Hokusai manga:
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Volume title in the large middle column of this title page:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 北 | hoku | north | |
| 斎 | sai | room | |
| 漫 | man | random | Random sketches |
| 画 | ga | drawing | of Hokusai |
| 初 | shō | first | |
| 編 | hen | volume | First volume |
On the right of the page is the publication date:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 文 | bun | text | |
| 政 | sei | government | |
| 戊 | tsuchinoe*) | 5th calendar sign | |
| 子 | ne | rat | |
| 春 | haru | spring | Reprint of Bunsei, |
| 再 | sai | again | year of the rat (i.e., 1828), |
| 版 | han | printing | spring |
and the firm name of the publisher is on the left:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 尾 | bi | tail | |
| 陽 | yō | positive | |
| 東 | tō | east | |
| 壁 | heki | wall | Tōhekidō |
| 堂 | dō | temple | of Biyō |
Seal on the verso of the title page:
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The full contents of Volume 1 of the Hokusai manga can be viewed on the website dedicated to the Gerhard Pulverer Collection here, as well as in the book by Forrer (2014) containing photographic reproductions of all fifteen Hokusai manga volumes, including explanations of each image in French.
References
- Dalon, Laure, Nagata, Seiji, Negishi, Mika, Takemura, Makoto, Okuda, Atsuko (2014). Hokusai. Paris, Grand Palais, Galeries Nationales, 1er octobre 2014 - 18 janvier 2015. Paris: Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux.
- Forrer, Matthi (1985). Eirakuya Tōshirō, publisher at Nagoya. A contribution to the history of publishing in 19th century Japan. Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben.
- Forrer, Matthi (2010). Hokusai. Munich: Prestel Verlag.
- Forrer, Matthi (2014). Hokusai. La Manga. L’Édition Complète Commentée (2 volumes in slipcase). Paris: Editions Hazan.
- Forrer, Matthi, Gulik, Willem R. van, and Kaempfer, Heinz M. (1982). Hokusai and his school: paintings, drawings and illustrated books. Leiden: Society for Japanese Arts and Crafts.
Provenance: Yagiya Bobongua store
*) Tsuchinoe combines tsuchi (earth, one of the five elements) and e (yang).