Meiji prints


  Design: Yamamoto Shōun (1870-1965)  
  Print title: Sound of insects  
  Album/series title: Shiki no Nagame (Scenes of the four seasons)  
  Size: 20.4 x 30.1 cm (ōban)  
  Original woodblock print    
  Photography: Jacques Commandeur
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Yamamoto Shoun Shiki no Nagame Sound of insects

Enlargement


Special effects: embossing (kara-zuri) on the blue kimono of the girl on the right; embossed fabric printing (nuno-me-zuri) on the pink kimono of the girl on the right and on the fan with Mount Fuji on the left; silver metallic pigments on the collars of the two ladies on the left and on the obi of the second lady from the left.

Published in 1906 by Matsuki Heikichi.

This print has no vertical fold in the middle, meaning that it was issued separately and only later as part of an orihon (i.e., folding book).

Artist’s signature and red Shōun seal in bottom right print area:

Character Reading Meaning Translation
       
shō rise  
un cloud Shōun

Series title in right margin:

Character Reading Meaning Translation
       
shi four  
ki seasons  
no ’s  
na    
ga   Scenes of the
me scenes four seasons

Followed by print title:

Character Reading Meaning Translation
       
mushi insect  
no ’s  
koe voice Sound of insects

Printing and publishing dates in left margin:

Character Reading Meaning Translation
       
mei light Printed in the
ji government Meiji era,
san three  
ten  
kyū nine  
nen year the 39th year (= 1906),
ten  
ni two  
gatsu month the 12th month (= December),
ten  
go five  
nichi day  
in stamp  
satsu print the 15th day.
       
kon now Published in
nen year the same year,
kon now  
getsu month the same month,
廿 jūnyū twenty  
hachi eight  
nichi day  
hatsu emit  
go the 28th day.

Followed by the publisher’s address, name and telephone number:

Character Reading Meaning Translation
       
ga drawing  
saku make  
in stamp  
satsu print  
ken combine  
hatsu emit  
go Painter, printer,
sha person and publisher,
       
east  
kyō capital  
shi city Tokyo city,
ni sun  
hon origin  
hashi bridge  
ku district Nihonbashi district,
yoshi good luck  
kawa river  
chō quarter Yoshikawa quarter,
ni two  
ban number  
chi earth, land number 2,
       
matsu pine  
ki tree  
hei level  
kichi good luck Matsuki Heikichi,
       
den electricity  
wa conversation  
ni two  
sen thousand  
ni two  
hyaku hundred  
hachi eight  
ten  
roku six  
ban number telephone number: 2286.

Name and address of the publisher in romaji in left bottom margin: “Sold by Daikokaya, H. Matsuki, No. 2, Yoshikawa-cho, Ryogoku, Tokyo, Japan.”


References


Provenance: The Arts and Designs of Japan website of Peter and Lois Gilder.

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