Edo prints


  Design: Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825)  
  Title: Early winter garden (front)  
  Series title: Twelve months of current fashion  
  Size: 22.5 x 35.2 cm (ōban)  
  Posthumous printing from newly cut woodblocks    
  Photography: Jacques Commandeur
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Toyokuni Early Winter Front

Enlargement


Originally published by Ibasen in 1822. This edition from newly cut blocks was published by Yūyūdō in 1975.

On this set of Toyokuni prints Mokuhankan mentions “Fan prints are often on one side, but this series is unique - the design of the front and back sides of the fan are fused together, and part of the figures are overlapped on both sides to create the illusion of three-dimensionality when you spin the fan around and around.”

Artist’s signature in right print area:

Character Reading Meaning Translation
       
豊 toyo wealthy  
国 kuni country Picture by
画 ga picture Toyokuni

Series and print title in left print area:

Character Reading Meaning Translation
       
今 ima now  
様 yō door  
十 jū ten  
二 ni two  
ヵ ka place Twelve months
月 getsu month of current fashion
       
初 hatsu early  
冬 fuyu winter  
の no ’s  
園 en garden Early winter garden

Yūyūdō publisher seal in lower left margin.

Yūyūdō publisher seal followed by names of the carver and printer of this edition in the lower right margin:

Character Reading Meaning Translation
       
彫 hori carver Carver:
小 ko small  
池 ike pond  
茂 shigeru grow thick Koike Shigeru
       
摺 su(ru) rub Printer:
遠 en distant  
藤 dō wisteria  
忠 tada loyalty  
雄 o leader Endō Tadao


Provenance: Mokuhankan

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