Shin Hanga prints
| Design: | Okada Yoshio (1934-2021) | |||||
| Title: | Wakana | |||||
| Series title: | Genji emaki (Picture scroll of Genji) | |||||
| Size: | 31.6 x 28.4 cm (ōban) | |||||
| Original woodblock print | ||||||
| Photography: | Jacques Commandeur |
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Published by Yūyūdō in 1978 or 1979.
Red seal reading Yoshi in upper left area and bottom right margin of the print.
Names of the carver, printer, and paper maker in bottom margin of the print:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 彫 | chō | carve | |
| 刻 | koku | engrave | Carver: |
| 前 | mae | before | |
| 田 | ta | rice field | |
| 謙 | ken | sign of the tiger | |
| 太 | ta | fat | |
| 郎 | rō | counter for sons | Maeda Kentarō |
| 摺 | su(ru) | rub | |
| 刷 | satsu | Printer: | |
| 遠 | en | distant | |
| 藤 | dō | wisteria | |
| 忠 | tada | loyalty | |
| 雄 | o | leader | Endō Tadao |
| 抄 | shō | extract | |
| 紙 | shi | paper | Paper maker: |
| 佐 | sa | assistant | |
| 々 | sa | ||
| 木 | ki | wood | |
| 一 | hajime | one | Sasaki Hajime |
Yūyūdō publisher seal in lower left margin of the print.
The protective folder has the label:
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in which the kanji 若菜 read Wakana (i.e., Young greens).
The direct inspiration for the Wakana woodblock print was the following Okada Yoshio illustration issued in the Shūkan Asahi magazine (click to enlarge):
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The latter illustration was again based on this water colour painting of Okada Yoshio (click to enlarge):
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which can be found on pages 138-139 of this book.
In this print we see Murasaki, Genji’s wife, who is troubled and saddened knowing that Genji is - at this very moment - spending yet another wedding night with a young girl called Onna San no Miya. Murasaki of course also happens to be the name of the writer of the Tale of Genji ...
References
- David Bull’s YouTube video Beginnings part 1 issued in August 2018.
- Eric van den Ing’s Saru Gallery website here.
Provenance: Mokuhankan