Edo prints
| Design: | Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) | |||||
| Title: | Enjoying the cool on the banks of the Sumida river (middle) | |||||
| Size: | 36.5 x 24.8 cm (ōban) | |||||
| Posthumous printing from newly cut woodblocks | ||||||
| Photography: | Jacques Commandeur |
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Special effects: karazuri (embossing) on the fan held by the lady on the right and on the fan the young boy is carrying on his back.
Originally published ca. 1795-6 by publisher Yamaguchiya Chūsuke, this version published around the 1950s by publisher Takamizawa from newly carved woodblocks.
Artist’s signature in lower right print area:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 歌 | uta | poem | |
| 麿 | maro | you | Drawn by |
| 筆 | hitsu | writing brush | Utamaro |
Red Takamizawa seal on verso of the print:
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in which the kanji read:
| Character | Reading | Meaning | Translation |
| 高 | taka | high | |
| 見 | mi(ru) | see | |
| 澤 | sawa | marsh | Published by |
| 版 | han | edition | Takamizawa |
Two women are walking along the river bank with a young boy carrying an insect cage. In the middle distance fireworks ignited from a chokibune or takasebune (I’m not sure what type of boat it is) are seen erupting in the night sky of Edo.
References
- Asano, Shūgō, and Clark, Timothy (1995). The passionate art of Kitagawa Utamaro (2 volumes in slipcase). Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun.
- Collia-Suzuki, Gina (2009). The Complete Woodblock Prints of Kitagawa Utamaro. A Descriptive Catalogue. Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom: Nezu Press.
Provenance: Ukiyoe Gallery Woodblock Prints