THE ART INSTITUTE OF 
 CHICAGO CATALOGUE 
 'of A MEMORIAL EXHIBI¬ 
 TION of JAPANESE COLOR 
 PRINTS from the CLARENCE 
 BUCKINGHAM COLLEC¬ 
 TION • JANUARY 12 TO 
 FEBRUARY 21, 1915. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2019 with funding from 
 Getty Research Institute 
 
 https://archive.org/details/catalogueofmemorOOarti 
 
MORONOBU 
 
 No. 4. Court lady standing under a plum tree 
 
THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 OF A MEMORIAL EXHIBITION OF 
 
 JAPANESE COLOR PRINTS 
 
 FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE 
 
 CLARENCE BUCKINGHAM 
 
 WITH NOTES EXPLANATORY 
 AND DESCRIPTIVE AND AN 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY by 
 
 FREDERICK WILLIAM GOOKIN 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 January 12 to February 21, 1915 
 
THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO 
 DEPARTMENT OF PRINTS 
 Committee: Wallace L. DeWolf, Kenneth S. Goodman, 
 Thomas E. Donnelley. 
 
 Assistant in Charge : Kathryn W. McGovern 
 
 •ir i* c 
 
CLARENCE BUCKINGHAM 
 
 On the twenty-eighth day of August, nineteen hundred and 
 thirteen, the Trustees of the Art Institute lost by death one of their 
 most highly esteemed associates, Clarence Buckingham. He was born 
 in Zanesville, Ohio, on the second day of November, eighteen hundred 
 and fifty-four, but spent all save three years of his life in Chicago. 
 
 He was attached to the City and was one of its useful citizens. 
 He gave freely of his time and energy to the encouragement of its wel¬ 
 fare. This he did in such a quiet, unassuming way that comparatively 
 few of his fellow citizens were aware of his broad sympathies. As a 
 business man he was noted for his sagacity and integrity, and was 
 called upon to serve as a Director in many corporations of importance 
 in the financial world. He was greatly interested in the welfare of the 
 children of the community and took an active part in the establishment 
 of the Public Playgrounds and other institutions for their pleasure and 
 development. He was a staunch friend of the University of Chicago 
 Settlement and gave generously for the support of its good work. He 
 devoted much time to the Home for Old Men on Garfield Boulevard. 
 As a Trustee of the Glenwood School for Boys he was one of its 
 active promoters. 
 
 He was a lover of the Fine Arts and devoted to the advance¬ 
 ment of the artistic life of Chicago. For thirty years he was a 
 Governing Member of the Art Institute, and served it faithfully as one 
 of its Trustees for more than eleven years. Here his fellow Trustees 
 soon recognized the value of his cheerful and animated presence, his 
 quiet and sane judgment. He was a zealous supporter of every branch 
 of the varied work of the Art Institute, and enriched its Museum by 
 repeated gifts of money, paintings, etchings and Japanese prints. He 
 was a man of rare artistic taste and for many years found his greatest 
 pleasure in bringing together the remarkable collection of etchings and 
 Japanese prints that is now placed on exhibition for the first time. 
 To his intimate friends this collection is a living witness of his infinite 
 patience and loving care, the result of which is visible in the quality of 
 the prints hung upon these walls. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The rise of the Ukiyo-e or Popular School of Japanese art was in 
 the nature of a response to a widespread need. It was a direct out¬ 
 come of the improved condition of the common people under the 
 peaceful regime of the Tokugawa Shoguns. As the artizans and 
 tradesmen prospered, life became freer, places of amusement multi¬ 
 plied, the streets were filled with musicians, story-tellers (hanashiki), 
 jugglers, and other itinerant entertainers, frequent fetes were held 
 in the temple compounds and in the streets of the Yoshiwara, and 
 the theatres were daily crowded to their full capacity. To satisfy the 
 aesthetic craving of the people leading this gay life something other 
 than the dignified and refined works of the classic painters was re¬ 
 quired. At first the paintings made in response to the popular de¬ 
 mand were in feeling very much like the older works, though the sub¬ 
 jects were taken from the everyday life of the people and in conse¬ 
 quence they were called Ukiyo-e or pictures of the passing world. 
 This was not a new term: it was first applied to the paintings of 
 Iwasa Matahei, an artist of aristocratic birth who lived at Fukui in 
 the province of Echizen, and whose output was almost entirely ab¬ 
 sorbed by his friend and patron Matsudaira Tadamasa, daimyo of 
 Fukui, and by the Shogun Tokugawa Iyemitsu, who was also a 
 great admirer of his work. 
 
 Nothing could be further from a popular art than the paintings 
 of Matahei despite the character of their subjects and the novelty of 
 their style, which, though based upon the traditions of the Tosa school 
 with some suffusion of Kano methods, was peculiarly his own. Only 
 in a pale reflection which lacked the vivifying touch that his hand 
 alone could give, was his style spread by his sons and followers and 
 so made known outside of the extremely narrow circle of those for 
 whom he worked. Not until Hishikawa Moronobu began to design 
 picture books ( ehon ) and single-sheet prints to be sold in the streets 
 
of Edo was there any intelligent effort made to supply the demand 
 for an art of the people. At the village of Otsu near Kyoto an 
 obscure artist named Matahei painted crude caricatures known as 
 Otsuye which were sold for the merest trifle to travellers, but these 
 were not of enough importance to call for more than passing men¬ 
 tion. Moronobu’s illustrated books, however, the first of which so 
 far as known was published in 1659, and his single-sheet prints that 
 began to be issued only a few years later, had wide circulation and 
 inaugurated a movement which soon took form as the Ukiyo-e ryu, 
 and in the course of the next two hundred years brought forth many 
 artists of ability including some of the world’s great masters, and 
 an output of paintings and of printed pictures, extraordinary both in 
 volume and in quality. 
 
 Moronobu based his style upon that of the Tosa masters and he 
 seems to have considered himself as their successor, rather than the 
 founder of a new school. And a similar view in regard to their 
 work appears to have been held by the other leading Ukiyo-e artists 
 until the middle of the eighteenth century, as the frequent use of 
 the signature Yamato Eshi—Japanese artist—attests. Moronobu’s 
 earliest single-sheet prints were issued as nearly as can be ascertained, 
 about 1670. They were impressions in black from one block only 
 and are known as sumi-ye—sumi being the Japanese name for Chinese 
 ink (commonly known as India ink). Almost from the first a part 
 of the edition appears to have been colored by hand. The earliest 
 style of coloring was a few touches of yellow green with perhaps 
 yellow or red. Later quite elaborate coloring is found, but it may 
 have been applied by purchasers of the prints. 
 
 Moronobu had two sons who were artists of ability, and a num¬ 
 ber of pupils and followers. All of these were painters, and only 
 rarely print designers. The development of the print as an exponent 
 of Ukiyo-e art was taken up by the artists of the Torii line in 
 the last decade of the seventeenth century, and they gave it an im¬ 
 petus that carried it forward in a long and triumphant progress. The 
 craze of the people for the theatre, their unbounded admiration for 
 their favorite actors, and their desire to have portraits of them in 
 their most admired roles was an important factor in this develop- 
 
 —6— 
 
ment. Torii Kiyonobu designed small prints of actors which were 
 cheaply colored by hand, and, in spite of the crudity of his earliest 
 efforts, were eagerly bought. He was the official artist for all the 
 leading theatres in Edo, and the proprietors, quick to see the adver¬ 
 tising value of the prints, placed every facility at his command that 
 could ensure accuracy in all essential details. 
 
 At the beginning of the eighteenth century a new style of color¬ 
 ing in which tan (red lead) predominated, was introduced by Ki¬ 
 yonobu, and he began to design large prints which could be mounted 
 as kakemono. Other artists also began to design prints. Kiyonobu’s 
 son Kiyomasu early came into the field, and not long after prints by 
 Okumura Masanobu began to appear. All three of these men were 
 artists of distinguished ability. Their prints were broadly treated 
 and are characterized by a largeness of handling and a feeling for 
 strong yet expressive line that we miss in the more elaborate and 
 sumptuous works of the later periods. The tan-ye style of coloring 
 was soon succeeded by the kurenai-ye in which the much more beauti¬ 
 ful beni red predominated; and then in response to a demand for 
 more careful and effective coloring a style was devised in which a 
 little lacquer (urushi) was mixed with the black, giving it a rich 
 velvety effect, and metallic powder was blown upon the color while 
 wet. These prints were called urushi-ye, and this name continued 
 to be given them when fish glue was substituted for the lacquer. 
 
 It is inconceivable that the idea of applying color by printing 
 from wood blocks should not have occurred to any one before the 
 year 1742. Though color prints from wood blocks had been made 
 in China more than fifty years earlier, knowledge of the methods by 
 which they were produced does not seem to have been carried to 
 Japan. Apparently the technical problem long defied solution. Oku¬ 
 mura Masanobu must on his own showing, now be regarded as the 
 man who finally discovered a practical method of color printing. 
 Being a publisher as well as an artist he was naturally alive to the 
 economic advantage of printing the color instead of applying it by 
 hand: being an artist he was also quick to perceive that it would 
 open out a wide range of charming effects not attainable otherwise. 
 Possibly it was the trick of using rice paste to keep the colors from run- 
 
 -7- 
 
ning that solved the problem. But this required that the printing 
 be done on damp paper which could only with great difficulty be 
 kept from stretching or shrinking so as to spoil the result; and nearly 
 twenty years elapsed before a practical method was devised of printing 
 more than two colors and the black outline and keeping the impres¬ 
 sions in register. 
 
 In 1746 (Enkyo 3) the first edition of “Mincho Seido Gayen,” 
 by Ooka Shumboku was published, with illustrations printed in sev¬ 
 eral colors. As this does not appear to have been followed by other 
 books with similar illustrations, or by single sheet prints in more than 
 two colors, it must be regarded as in the nature of an experiment. The 
 rarity of the first edition suggests the explanation that although the 
 illustrations were so designed that the difficulty of the register would 
 be minimized as much as possible, the printing had to be done so 
 slowly that the cost made the publication unprofitable, and very few 
 copies were issued. 
 
 The choice of colors for the earliest prints was an exceedingly 
 happy one. For something like fifteen years only rose pink (beni) 
 and green were used; but the pink in different prints ranged from 
 a pale flush to a brilliant red, and the green was of all the many 
 varieties from yellow green to blue green and from light to dark; 
 and the artists showed marvellous ingenuity in devising new effects 
 from the comparatively limited color scheme of pink, green, black, and 
 white—the white being the unprinted paper. At first the color prints 
 were of the hosoe size. All of the print publishers made haste to 
 take advantage of the new method. With the exception of a few 
 large kakemono-ye which continued to be produced for another de¬ 
 cade, the urushi-ye were entirely superceded by the beni-ye as the new 
 prints were called. 
 
 The art of print designing now entered upon a fascinating period. 
 The veterans Kiyomasu and Okumura Masanobu vied with one an¬ 
 other and with a bevy of talented younger men,—Nishimura Shi- 
 genaga, the short-lived Torii Shiro, the brilliant Ishikawa Toyonobu, 
 and others of lesser fame—in designing works of rare beauty and 
 charm. Masanobu in especial was felicitous in evolving delightful 
 patterns from only pink and green and a black outline. Unfor- 
 
 —s— 
 
tunately for us, he was not entirely dependent upon his brush for 
 his livelihood, and did not therefore produce nearly as many prints 
 as most of the Ukiyo-e artists, and in consequence his works are 
 extremely rare. 
 
 As artists, engravers, and printers grew more skillfull, they be¬ 
 came dissatisfied with the limitations of the beni-ye. The earliest 
 innovations were with new color schemes. The pioneer was Kiyo- 
 masu’s son Torii Kiyomitsu, a young man of twenty, just beginning 
 his career as an artist. Under his stimulus the printers succeeded in 
 making prints for which three color-blocks were used. This opened 
 out a new range of effects; but the gain was not enough to overcome 
 the dissatisfaction. Various experiments were tried. One of these 
 was in the printing method and the results of it are now designated 
 by the Japanese as “water prints.” In what respect they differ from 
 other prints is not apparent. When not too much faded they have 
 very great charm; but it is evident that in most instances they faded 
 very quickly. 
 
 It was at this period that an artist appeared on the scene who 
 was destined to carry the art of color printing to the highest point 
 it has ever attained anywhere in the world. Suzuki Harunobu did 
 not invent the method of full color printing, but when the engraver 
 Kinroku—who is generally credited with the discovery though it was 
 probably the outcome of experiments in which all the leading printers 
 shared—found a way to use as many color-blocks as were desired and 
 yet keep the impressions on the printed sheet in perfect register, 
 Harunobu was the first to utilize it. Quick to perceive its advan¬ 
 tages he began to issue prints that were quite unlike any of their 
 predecessors. They were printed upon paper different from any 
 that had been used theretofore; they were novel in shape, in design, 
 in color, and in subject, and were so exquisitely dainty and charming 
 that they instantly captivated all who saw them. One of the first 
 innovations was the printed background. This with one stroke com¬ 
 pletely changed the character of the prints and opened a wide range 
 of possibilities which Harunobu lost no time in exploring. By using 
 mixed tints, opaque colors, and gauffrage, the scope of the art widened 
 as if by magic. Flushed with the joy of discovery he strove to pro- 
 
 —9— 
 
duce prints that would have the charm of paintings and be worthy 
 substitutes for them. And he not only chose subjects likely to appeal 
 to men of taste but treated them with a tenderness and refinement 
 previously unknown in Ukiyo-e. 
 
 The first of the new prints appeared at the end of 1764 and were 
 surimono calendars for the year 1765. Surimono, it may be explained, 
 are cards of occasion, as are our Christmas cards. Many of them 
 were sent out as New Year greetings; others were issued by clubs 
 of ode composers. They were usually ordered from the artists direct 
 and were not regularly published. The earliest of Harunobu’s little 
 calendars for 1765 were very likely printed to distribute to a few 
 of his friends. To the end that they should be regarded as choice 
 things it is probable that very few impressions of any of them were 
 struck off. The dai and sho or numerals of the large and small months 
 of the year appearing upon them were as a rule so concealed as not to 
 be obtrusive and to yield a new pleasure when discovered. Very soon 
 after the appearance of the first of the Haru-no Daisho no surimono 
 as they were called, they became very much the mode. They set a 
 fashion that all the print designers were quick to follow as best they 
 could. Meanwhile Harunobu made daily experiments, put forth 
 novelty after novelty, and tried his hand at more and more elaborate 
 works. In these experiments he was ably seconded by the printers 
 Kyosen, Sekine Kaei, Toko, and Raishi, and by a number of engravers 
 of whom Takahashi Rosen was the most noted. 
 
 Harunobu now occupied a most enviable position. No longer 
 need he earn his living by making pictures of actors. Thenceforth 
 he would be free to portray the beauty and charm of his country¬ 
 women whose figures and faces no one else could imbue with such 
 enchanting sweetness and grace. All the other Ukiyo-e artists had 
 perforce to work in his style or go without a market for their wares. 
 Some of them succeeded so well that their unsigned prints sold in 
 the streets of Edo were taken for his by the people, and he was no 
 longer able to boast that a signature was not necessary to identify his 
 works. Under the stimulus of an insatiable demand for his prints 
 he produced a very large number, but he could not design them fast 
 enough, and so the calendar prints of the beginning of the year were 
 
 — 10 — 
 
revamped, new color blocks were engraved upon which the dai and 
 sho did not appear, and second and third editions were struck off, 
 which probably did not have his personal supervision, and which have 
 much less charm than the earlier impressions. 
 
 The art of print designing now entered upon the period of its 
 greatest triumphs. From the number of colors woven together in 
 them the prints were denominated Nishiki-ye, or brocade pictures. 
 Harunobu lived only five years longer, but they were years of steady 
 progress. The older men for the most part ceased to produce; they 
 were not young enough to change their methods completely, but an¬ 
 other generation came forward to take their places. Katsukawa 
 Shunsho, by his actor prints in the new style, so completely eclipsed 
 all rivals that Torii Kiyomitsu, although he was the official artist of 
 the theatres, gave up print designing and in his later years devoted 
 himself solely to painting karnban. Shunsho was as eager an experi¬ 
 menter as Harunobu and a more forceful draughtsman. For pure 
 aesthetic delight his best works are not surpassed by those of any other 
 artist. He exercised great influence upon the development of the 
 school, and with Shigemasa, Bunchd, and Koryusai he held the lead¬ 
 ing place after Harunobu’s death in 1770 until the end of the decade, 
 when Torii Kiyonaga had achieved such popularity that he dominated 
 all about him. 
 
 Kiyonaga may properly be considered the culminating figure in 
 the forward movement of the Ukiyo-e School. He was an artist of 
 commanding power and a consummate master of all the resources of 
 his craft. Even in Japan few men have ever handled a brush with 
 greater skill; and the virile quality of his strong, yet infinitely varied, 
 plastic, and always expressive strokes, made a very insistent appeal 
 to a people accustomed to use brushes in writing, and who could 
 therefore appreciate the rare virtuosity that Kiyonaga displayed. Be¬ 
 sides this, his designs, even when fraught with whimsical or comic 
 meanings, were treated with a dignity and reserve that was very 
 rare in Ukiyo-e art. And to him we owe the large diptychs, triptychs, 
 and compositions in five, seven and even twelve sheets, that were 
 such a notable feature in the output of the last two decades of the 
 eighteenth century. 
 
 —11— 
 
The years of Temmei (1781 to 1789) when Kiyonaga reigned 
 supreme, were years of very great achievement. When, about 1790, 
 he ceased to design color prints, the creative force that induced the 
 forward movement was nearly spent. Under his influence, Shuncho, 
 Shunman, and Eishi, were producing prints that rank among the 
 masterpieces of the school; Utamaro was doing excellent work though 
 he had not yet quite found himself; Toyokuni was just beginning his 
 career and attracting attention by designing prints more beautiful 
 and carefully wrought than most of those he drew in later years 
 when at the height of his fame. Shunyei, following, it would seem 
 probable, a suggestion from his master Shunsho who was soon to 
 pass from the scene, had struck a new note in the drawing of actor’s 
 portraits, a note that apparently fired the imagination of Sharaku 
 and led to the production, a few years later, of the amazing prints 
 which, in spite of the employment of unusually frank conventions and 
 the brutality with which the subjects are treated, must be ranked as 
 works of art of very high order. Concerning them it is significant 
 that although all the Ukiyo-e artists who were Sharaku’s contem¬ 
 poraries tried their hands at similar works, no one of them was able 
 to turn out anything more than characterless imitations, lacking the 
 distinctive flavor of his grand style. 
 
 Inscriptions, probably contemporary, on several of the large head 
 actor portraits by Sharaku indicate that they were issued in 1794. 
 By this time Utamaro had come to the full maturity of his power and 
 was sending out a steady stream of clever works drawn with his un- 
 imitably suave, supple and impetuous brush. His hand and brain 
 seemed untiring, his invention endless. The first of the prints de¬ 
 signed by him at this period are among the greatest triumphs of the 
 school. No other Ukiyo-e artist could draw the contour of the 
 human face and figure with such truth and such expressive line as 
 he; no one essayed more different subjects, or was more versatile. 
 His very facility, however, only hastened the decadence which had 
 already set in. Novelty was sought at any sacrifice; styles under¬ 
 went changes not for the better. To a certain extent Utamaro was 
 swept along by the current; in a larger degree he, as the most popular 
 artist of his day, guided its course. To hold him entirely responsible 
 
 —12— 
 
for the downward impetus would be unfair: he was born a few years 
 too late to participate in the upward movement; that in the reverse 
 direction would have taken place without him, but it is safe to assume 
 that it would have been less rapid. His own work never lost a cer¬ 
 tain distinction, even to the end. But the difference between the 
 artistic worth of the majority of the prints issued about 1794 and 
 those of five or six years later is very marked. 
 
 From this time onward there was a steady lowering of popular 
 taste, and a corresponding decline in the merit of the works produced 
 by the artists of the Popular School. By the second decade of the 
 nineteenth century a level of blatant vulgarity had been reached that 
 is almost unbelievable in view of the high standard of only twenty- 
 five years earlier: and by the middle of the century the round of 
 evolution was completed, feeble drawing, cheap printing, and gaudy 
 coloring became the rule, and refinement of any sort almost completely 
 disappeared. 
 
 As a light sometimes flares up before it goes out, so was the dark¬ 
 ness of this period of decay illuminated by the genius of two men 
 of the first rank, Hokusai and Hiroshige. Both of these artists were 
 extraordinarily prolific. Hokusai, who lived and worked until he 
 reached the age of eighty-nine, produced a mass of works which in 
 all probability has never been equalled either in extent or variety by 
 those of any other man. No other Japanese artist ever had so many 
 different manners, or so many pseudonymns, or essayed so many dif¬ 
 ferent themes, or was more daring in his compositions, or displayed 
 more originality. Like Sharaku he belongs in a class by himself. 
 His art, wonderful in its versatility and masterly qualities, is in many 
 respects sui generis. The personal equation is always dominant. This 
 was his salvation. More than any other thing it helped him to steer 
 a straight course and avoid the rocks upon which so many of his con¬ 
 temporaries were wrecked. Hiroshige also was an artist of rare skill. 
 His designs have not the rugged strength that we find in Hokusai’s; 
 they are more realistic and are not conceived upon so high a plane, 
 but they possess a sweetness and melting charm that is all their own. 
 Both of these men were among the greatest landscape artists the world 
 has ever known. Their numerous prints of landscapes are a revela- 
 
 —13— 
 
tion of the possibilities of originality in composition and variety of 
 interest in this field. But without seeng the finest impressions one 
 cannot realize the full measure of their merit as works of art. 
 
 The truth is impressions of any print vary so widely that each 
 may almost be called an individual thing. The very finest have so 
 much vital quality that it is difficult to think of them as merely prints. 
 This is due to the method of printing which is as far as possible from 
 being mechanical except when carelessly done. No more primitive 
 process could be imagined. The most wonderful of all the prints 
 is only a “rubbing” taken by hand from wood blocks. In mak¬ 
 ing a print the artist first drew the design with the point of a brush 
 in black outline on thin paper. The engraver then pasted this face, 
 down on a plank of cherry or other hard wood, and, after carefully 
 scraping it until the drawing showed through clearly, cut away the 
 wood until the lines stood up in relief, care being taken to preserve 
 every feature of the brush strokes. Impressions were then taken in 
 Chinese ink on thin paper and handed to the artist to fill in with color. 
 Several of these impressions may be seen in this exhibition. This in¬ 
 genious plan, which is manifestly the outgrowth of the early custom 
 of coloring the sumi-ye prints by hand, enabled the artist to try many 
 experiments with a minimum amount of labor. The color scheme 
 and ornamentation of the surfaces having been determined in this 
 way, as many subsidiary blocks were made as were required, usually 
 one for each color, though occasionally it was possible to use one 
 block for two colors, at the risk of accidents in the printing which 
 in consequence sometimes occurred. Accurate register was secured by 
 a very simple device. A right-angled mark was engraved at the lower 
 right-hand corner of the key-block and a straight mark in exact line 
 with its lower arm at the left. These were repeated upon each subse¬ 
 quent block and in printing, the sheets were laid down so that their 
 lower and right-hand edges corresponded with the marks so made. 
 
 The blocks were charged with Chinese ink or color, applied with 
 flat brushes. Usually a little rice paste was mixed with the pigments 
 to increase their brilliance and to keep them from running. Some¬ 
 times dry rice flour was dusted over the blocks after they were charged. 
 The printer could vary the color at will. He could apply it to the 
 
 —14— 
 
entire surface of the block or to only part of it, could grade it, and 
 modify it in various ways. Hard mechanical accuracy was easily 
 avoided, for impressions differed even when uniformity was desired. 
 The impression was taken by laying a sheet of damp paper upon the 
 block and rubbing it with a pad called a baren applied to the back 
 of the paper and manipulated with a circular movement. Many 
 things affected the result. A little more or a little less pigment often 
 made a decided difference in the tone of a print, and, incidentally, 
 it may be noted, in the nature and extent of the fading or decom¬ 
 position of the color in after years. Much depended also upon the 
 dampness or dryness of the paper. By varying the degree of pressure 
 the color could be forced deep into the paper, or left upon the outer 
 fibres only so that the whiteness of those below would show through. 
 When perfectly done the “dry printing” was highly appreciated. The 
 skill of the printer, it will be perceived, was a large factor in securing 
 the best results. The very first impressions were not usually the best. 
 A certain number had to be pulled before the blocks would take the 
 color properly. Then the choice “ippai” impressions that are so 
 rarely seen, were taken, often it may be assumed, under the direct 
 personal supervision of the artist by whom the print was designed. 
 
 Many kinds of paper were used for the prints. Impressions of 
 the same print were frequently made upon more than one kind and 
 sometimes upon three or four. Apparently no invariable rule gov¬ 
 erned the selection even for the choicest impressions, except in the 
 case of some of Harunobu’s prints for the best of which a thick paper 
 of soft, spongy texture and almost ivory tone was used. In Japan 
 this is now spoken of as Kyosen paper, on the supposition that it was 
 specially made for that printer and according to his formula, which 
 has been lost. Surimono paper which came into use toward the end 
 of the eighteenth century is much whiter than other Japanese paper, 
 and is made of a fibre resembling cotton. To facilitate any printing 
 little or no size was used in its manufacture, and in consequence prints 
 made upon it were very easily damaged as any handling was apt to 
 result in abrasion of the surface 
 
 Concerning the pigments used very little is known. Beni, which 
 is virtually the same as rouge, is an exceedingly beautiful but extremely 
 
fugitive red extracted from the saffron. Indigo of a hue that cannot 
 be matched, was extracted from blue cloth imported from China, 
 taisha, which was first used by Kiyomitsu, is our familiar Indian red; 
 tan is a red oxide of lead; and gofun, known to us as Chinese white, 
 is made from the same mineral. But we are without information 
 regarding the yellows, or the greens, or the composition of the purple 
 that fades and decomposes into a thousand broken hues of great 
 beauty; we have not penetrated the secret of the wonderful blue, 
 apparently a compound tint, that so rarely remains as when first 
 applied to the paper, and so often has changed to a pale buff, having 
 peculiar depth and a soft, velvety texture. Perhaps it is fortunate 
 that this knowledge eludes us, since we are undoubtedly spared a flood 
 of modern reproductions. Many of these have been made in the last 
 twenty-five years, but only a few of them are deceptive to the experi¬ 
 enced eye. Most of them when placed beside the old works appear 
 dull and lifeless. The most serious attempt to make reprints that could 
 not be detected, was made about twenty years ago, when a group 
 of about twenty prints by Harunobu, including as it curiously happens, 
 at least one of Kokan’s forgeries, were reproduced. These were so 
 well done that the few impressions offered for sale were readily 
 bought by European collectors. The best of them are in some respects 
 superior to poorly printed late impressions from the original blocks 
 or to early impressions which through exposure or other maltreatment 
 have lost their vital quality, and in consequence are not infrequently 
 mistaken for reprints. 
 
 Although as early perhaps as the An-ei period (1772-1781) 
 Eiraku-ya of Nagoya bought the blocks of well-known prints that 
 were out-of-date in the eastern capital, revamped them in various 
 ways and issued editions quite worthless as works of art, and in 
 Osaka in the nineteenth century a few prints were made from designs 
 by local artists, the nishiki-ye were distinctly a Edo product and were 
 often referred to as Edo-ye. Most of them were sold at the time of 
 publication for a few sen. So cheap were they that they very soon after 
 color printing was invented the custom grew up of designing them in 
 series of, as a rule, from four to twelve prints, though sometimes more, 
 which were made up in packets enclosed in ornamental wrappers, 
 
 — 16 — 
 
and not only sold in the publisher’s shops but hawked about the streets. 
 A print by Kiyonaga (No. 463 in this exhibition) shows a boy offering 
 such a packet to passers-by, while a man standing before the publisher’s 
 shop is examining larger single sheet prints. Presumably the larger 
 and more elaborate prints sold for relatively high prices, but in gen¬ 
 eral they were regarded as ephemeral things and the prices were small. 
 The only definite information we have about the prices is furnished 
 by an edict promulgated in 1842, in which it was provided that no 
 single sheet should be sold for a greater price than sixteen sen. Today 
 that sum is the equivalent of eight cents, but the difference in the pur¬ 
 chasing power of money then and now needs to be considered in esti¬ 
 mating the actual price limit. 
 
 Color prints were made for many purposes and in widely varying 
 editions. Those that we now admire and treasure were only a small 
 part of the entire number issued. Their distinction is due to their 
 having been designed by artists of much more than ordinary ability. 
 By the Japanese of the upper classes they were looked upon as amus¬ 
 ing things not to be taken very seriously. The reason for this is that 
 the subjects of most of them were considered vulgar, and they lacked, 
 as a rule, the lofty poetic sentiment that men of taste were educated 
 to consider a sine qua non in works of art. By far the larger part of 
 them represent actors or women of the Yoshiwara: the great majority 
 contain some comic allusion, or travesty upon well-known tale or 
 classic incident, or satirize the foibles of the nobles. But if the aris¬ 
 tocrats affected to look down upon the prints, there were many people 
 who admired and appreciated them. And so although countless thou¬ 
 sands, including, unfortunately, most of the impressions of the more 
 important works of the greater artists, were pasted on screens or 
 mounted as kakemono and were destroyed by exposure or in the fre¬ 
 quent conflagrations by which Edo was devastated, many others were 
 carefully put away and saved. Unhappily the Japanese kura or fire¬ 
 proof storehouses were not always proof against mildew and the 
 ravages of moths, and owners have not always handled the prints 
 with care. In consequence, the choicest impressions of notable prints, 
 which were probably never very numerous, are now extremely rare. 
 It is these impressions that are sought for by discriminating collectors 
 
 —17— 
 
such as the late owner of the prints here exhibited. The collection 
 made by Mr. Buckingham easily takes rank among the finest that have 
 ever been brought together. It is especially strong in the rare early 
 prints that were made before the development of full-color printing, 
 and are conveniently grouped under the general caption of “primi¬ 
 tives,” and in the superb showing of works by Kiyonaga; but all the 
 leading artists are well represented. The collection is notable for 
 the choice condition of most of the prints. Mr. Buckingham made a 
 special effort to get fine impressions in perfect condition. He was con¬ 
 cerned with their artistic quality and cared nothing for historical com¬ 
 pleteness. Nevertheless the prints included in this exhibition admir¬ 
 ably represent the history of the Ukiyo-e school, though less than half 
 of the collection is shown, and space was not available for the actor 
 prints by Shunsho, Buncho, Shunko and Shunyei. 
 
 In regard to the dates assigned to the prints in this catalogue a few 
 words should be said. In most instances they are tentative, and allow¬ 
 ance should be made for a variation of a year either way, and some¬ 
 times more. The dating is, however, the result of the study of a 
 large number of prints and is based upon the following considerations: 
 First, dated prints, chiefly calendars, and illustrated books which 
 afford certain definite information; second, contemporary inscriptions 
 bearing dates; third, a comparison of the works of the different artists 
 working at any given time, bearing in mind their ages and what these 
 may signify; fourth, the chronicle of the Edo stage from which we 
 learn the dates when the leading actors were born and died, their sev¬ 
 eral changes of name, the times when certain dramas were presented 
 and other useful information; fifth, fashions in wearing apparel and 
 coiffures; sixth, and in some respects most important of all, the pro¬ 
 gressive changes in manner which the work of every virile artist 
 always shows; seventh, the vogue of peculiarities in drawing such as 
 abnormally tall or very short figures, and other whims that obtained 
 every now and then for brief intervals, and to which all of the Edo 
 artists as a rule conformed. The method by which the prints were 
 produced and especially the rapidity with which the drawings could 
 be made with the brush enabled the artists to design an astonishingly 
 large number. One of the consequences was that any new idea, 
 
 —18— 
 
whether of subject or treatment, was immediately seized upon by all 
 the artists in the city. What one did therefore was sure to be reflected 
 in the work of the others. No one of these considerations is alone 
 sufficient, but from them all it is possible to arrive at a reasonable 
 degree of certainty. 
 
 Frederick W. Gookin. 
 
 — 19 — 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 FORMATS 
 
 Japanese words for which there are no English equivalents furnish 
 the most convenient way of designating the size of the prints. 
 
 Hashira-ye (pillar print). Vertical format: height, about 27 
 inches; width, from 4 to 5 inches. 
 
 Wide Hashira-ye. Vertical format: height, about 28 inches; 
 width, about 9 inches. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Vertical format: height, 22 to 27 inches; width, 
 about 12 inches. 
 
 Makimono-ye. Horizontal format: height, about 12 inches; 
 length, about 27 inches. 
 
 Oban. Vertical format: height, about 15 inches; width, about 
 10 inches. 
 
 Yokoye. Horizontal format: height, about 10 inches; width, 
 about 15 inches. 
 
 Chuban. Vertical format: height, about 11 inches; width, about 
 8 inches. 
 
 Koban. Vertical format: smaller than chuban. 
 
 Hosoe. Vertical format: height, about 12 inches; width, about 
 6 inches. 
 
 SIGNATURES 
 
 Ga. This term, the equivalent of yegaku, signifies “drawn by.” 
 Hitsu. Brush. The alternative pronunciation “fude” is not used 
 for Ukiyo-e works. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 HISHIKAWA MORONOBU. 
 
 This eminent artist, who may be considered as the father of pic¬ 
 torial printing in Japan, was born at Hoda in the province of Awa, 
 a small village situated about thirty miles from Edo, across the bay. 
 The date of his birth is not certainly known; but it was probably in 
 the year 1625. He was named Kichibei, by which appellation he 
 was familiarly known to his family and friends, and Moronobu, by 
 which name he was known to the world at large. Here it may be 
 noted that the complicated structure of Japanese names is a source of 
 much confusion, which is the more troublesome from the fact that 
 the characters with which they are written can be read with either 
 Japanese or Chinese pronunciation. It was not customary for artists 
 to sign their works with their true names, but with “go” or studio 
 names of which each artist might have as many as he liked. 
 
 Moronobu’s father, who died in 1662, was Hishikawa Kichi- 
 zaemon Michishige, known also in his later years as Kochiku (not 
 Mitsutake, as it may be read), a celebrated embroiderer, who was 
 also a clever painter and designer. Moronobu is said to have been 
 only ten years old when he began to assist his father. Under his 
 tutelage Moronobu became proficient in the handicraft of embroidery 
 and in the art of designing for it, but, while still a youth he removed 
 to Edo, where he devoted himself entirely to painting, studying first 
 the Tosa style and then turning to that Ukiyo-e modification of Tosa 
 practised by Iwasa Matahei and his pupils. It was not long before 
 he began to draw designs for book illustrations in the style of the new 
 Popular School. His training gave him remarkable skill in the 
 arrangement of pattern and ability to secure richness of effect with 
 simple means. This was precisely what was necessary to develop the 
 art of wood engraving, which, under his direction, made notable prog¬ 
 ress during his lifetime. He designed illustrations for more than 
 thirty books, besides numerous single-sheet prints, and also executed a 
 large number of paintings. In the year 1694 he became a nyudo, i. e., 
 “one who has come to understand the truth,” assumed the aspect of 
 a Buddhist priest, and took the name of Yuchiku. His death occurred 
 early in the following year, as appears from the preface and appendix 
 to “Sugata-e Hyakunin Isshu,” published in May, 1695, for which he 
 drew the illustrations. 
 
 —21— 
 
HISHIKAWA MORONOBU 
 
 1. NARIHIRA SENDING A LETTER TO A LADY. 
 
 Double page book illustration. Not signed. About 1675. Slightly 
 colored by hand at a later date. 
 
 This print illustrates a scene from the mediaeval romance, “Ise 
 Monogatari,” which is supposed to chronicle the amatory adventures 
 and other episodes in the life of the famous poet and court noble, 
 Ariwara no Narihira Ason. 
 
 2. THE YOSHIWARA PARADE. 
 
 Makimono-ye. Sumi-ye. Not signed. About 1678. 
 
 Over the heads of the four oiran in the procession men servants 
 hold umbrellas from which are suspended paper strips inscribed with 
 the women’s mon (badges) and their names, i. e., Toragozen, Shosho, 
 Kasugano, and Utsusemi. 
 
 3. PROCESSION OF THE KOREAN AMBASSADOR. 
 
 Makimono-ye. Colored by hand with tan (red lead), green and 
 white. Not signed. About 1678. 
 
 This print and Nos. 4 and 9 show the earliest style of hand-color¬ 
 ing that was applied to the prints. 
 
 4. COURT LADY STANDING UNDER A PLUM TREE. 
 
 Kakemono-ye slightly colored by hand. Not signed. About 1678. 
 An important example of Moronobu’s work in exceptional con¬ 
 dition. 
 
 5. AN INTERRUPTED EMBRACE. 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Not signed. About 1680. 
 
 6. A PICNIC PARTY. 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Not signed. About 1685. 
 
 Characteristic example of Moronobu’s middle period. 
 
 7. COURT LADY STANDING UNDER A CHERRY 
 TREE. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Hand-colored. Not signed. About 1686. 
 
 An unusually fine example of Moronobu’s single sheet prints. The 
 coloring is done with freedom yet with great care, perhaps by Morono- 
 bu himself. 
 
 —22— 
 
HISHIKAWA MORONOBU 
 
 8 . A YOUNG MAN VISITING HIS LADY LOVE 
 AND ANOTHER WOMAN LOOKING AT THEM 
 THROUGH A WINDOW. 
 
 Yokoye Sumi-ye. Not signed. About 1690. 
 
 Prints of this style and size were commonly issued in series and 
 bound in folding albums (orihon). As a rule, only the last sheet of 
 the series was signed. 
 
 HISHIKAWA MOROFUSA 
 
 Morofusa was the "go” or artist name of Moronobu’s eldest son, 
 Kichizaemon. Though he was a clever and graceful painter, he early 
 gave up painting and became a dyer. So far as known he designed 
 only a very few prints. 
 
 9. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Morofusa ga on margin 
 which has been trimmed from this impression. About 1675. 
 
 The actor Ukiyo no Suke is represented as a samurai holding an 
 umbrella over a woman, impersonated by Kanto Koroku, on the 
 road to Yoshida, while from a balcony they are watched by Miyakono 
 Okuni and another woman. 
 
 HISHIKAWA MOROSHIGE 
 
 This artist, whose family name was Furuyama, was a pupil and 
 follower of Moronobu. 
 
 10. A MAN LISTENING TO A WOMAN READING 
 ALOUD. 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Signed: Moroshige zu. About 1690. 
 
 The woman is seated on a toko (bed) ; the man is near her and 
 has a futon (wadded coverlid) wrapped about him. 
 
 KAIGETSUDO ANCHI 
 
 One of the most brilliant of the Ukiyo-e artists of the early eigh¬ 
 teenth century was Okazawa Genshichi, whose artist name was 
 
 —23— 
 
KAIGESTSUDO ANCHI 
 
 Kaigetsudo Ando. Though he is said to have been an amateur, 
 rather than a professional artist, his work has unusual character and 
 distinction. He specialized in figures of tall women, which were 
 drawn with a splendid sweep of finely felt line and a vivacity of pat¬ 
 tern quite unsurpassed. His coloring, too, was always charming. Lit¬ 
 tle is known about him. Most, if not all, of his work and that of his 
 pupils Kaigetsudo Anchi, Kaigetsudo Dohan, Kaigetsudo Doshu and 
 Kaigetsudo Doshin, was done in the decade preceding the year 1714. 
 In that year he was banished to the island of Oshima, as a punishment 
 for having attended a banquet at a tea-house attached to one of the 
 theatres in company with some court ladies. This episode appears 
 to have broken up the Kaigetsudo group. 
 
 Ando did not publish any prints, but a few were designed by his 
 pupils and followers who closely imitated his style, though they 
 could not equal his rare combination of force and refinement. These 
 prints which are of extreme rarity are regarded as among the chief 
 prizes for which collectors strive. 
 
 11. A BIJIN (BEAUTIFUL WOMAN). 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Sumi-ye. Signed: Nihon Kyoga. Kaigetsudo 
 Matsuyo (pupil) Anchi. (This name may be read Yasutomo: 
 which pronunciation was used is not known.) Seal: Anchi. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Maruhachi. 
 
 KAIGETSUDO DOHAN 
 
 12. AN OIRAN. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Nihon Kyoga Kaigetsudo 
 Matsuyo Dohan (alternative reading Norishige). Seal: Dohan. 
 Publisher: Iga-ya. 
 
 TORII KIYONOBU 
 
 This artist, whose personal name was Torii Shobei, was born in 
 1664 and was the son of Torii Shokichi Kiyomoto, the founder of the 
 Torii line of Ukiyo-e artists. Kiyomoto was born in 1645 and was an 
 actor of Osaka before he became a painter. In 1687 father and son 
 removed to Edo, where they obtained employment in painting the 
 kamban or signs, for the Ichimura theatre. These signs were some 
 
 —24— 
 
TORII KIYONOBU 
 
 four or five feet in height, and forty or fifty feet, or even more, in 
 length, and the large pictures of actors, vigorous in design and exe¬ 
 cuted with powerful brush strokes, which were drawn upon them soon 
 made the Torii artists famous and gained them the patronage of all 
 four of the first-class theatres in the Shogun’s capital. Kiyonobu soon 
 began to attract attention also by painting actors’ portraits in sake 
 cups, which became one of the fashions of the day. About seven of 
 eight years later, as nearly as can now be determined, he took up the 
 designing of small single sheet prints of actors, which were sold in the 
 streets for a very small price. After his father s death in 1702 he 
 continued to carry on the work for the theatres, which, indeed, became 
 a perquisite of the Xorii line for several generations. About this 
 time he began to publish large single sheet prints which, like some of 
 those designed by Moronobu, could be mounted as kakemono or pasted 
 upon screens. He is generally credited as the originator of the style 
 of coloring known as tan-ye, and of the later kurenai-ye, and urushi-ye 
 styles. He died in 1729 at the age of sixty-six. 
 
 13. THE ACTOR MORITA MOTOGORO. 
 
 Hosoe. Hand-colored. Not signed. Publisher: Hangi-ya. About 
 1695. 
 
 The actor represents a pilgrim seated by a tree stump near the 
 seashore. He holds his staff in his left hand and stretches out the 
 other toward a cuckoo flying overhead and carrying in its beak a leaf 
 from the tree. 
 
 This print and the next number are rare examples of Kiyonobu s 
 earliest style of actor prints. Some previous owner having pasted 
 slips of paper over the marks of the publisher, the portions of the 
 prints so covered are now somewhat lighter than the exposed surfaces. 
 
 14. ACTOR, AS A SAMURAI IN WINTER GARB. 
 
 Hosoe. Hand-colored. Not signed. Publisher: Hangi-ya. About 
 1695. 
 
 is THE ACTOR SUGIMOTO TANIZO, AS A WOMAN 
 CARRYING AN UMBRELLA AND LEADING A BOY, 
 IMPERSONATED BY NAKAMURA SHICHISABURO. 
 Hosoe. Tan-ye. Not signed. About 1700. 
 
 A re-engraving of this print was made about 1896, as a specimen 
 of the work of Moronobu so choice as to be worthy of being repro¬ 
 duced. It is, however, clearly later than Moronobu’s time. 
 
TORII KIYONOBU 
 
 16. THE ACTOR SAWAMURA KODENJI AS A DANC¬ 
 ING GIRL, HOLDING A LARGE HAT UPSIDE 
 DOWN ON THE PALM OF HER HAND. 
 
 Hosoe. Tan-ye. Not signed. Publisher: Hangi-ya. About 1700. 
 
 17. ACTOR OF THE TSUTSUI LINE AS HANA OKAMI, 
 STANDING UNDER A CHERRY TREE IN BLOOM. 
 
 Hosoe. Tan-ye. Not signed. About 1700. 
 
 18. KAMIMURA KICHISABURO IN THE ROLE OF 
 JOSAN NO MIYA. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Tan-ye. Signed: Yamato Gako (Japanese artist) 
 Torii Shobei. Publisher: Hangi-ya. About 1705. 
 
 Josan no Miya was a court lady of the olden time. She is always 
 represented as leading or playing with a white kitten. 
 
 19. AN OIRAN AND HER KAMURO (ATTENDANT). 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Sumi-ye. Signed: Yamato hitsu Hinga Tsukasa 
 Torii Kiyonobu. Publisher: Hangi-ya. About 1710. 
 
 20. THE ACTOR SAN JO KANTARO AS A WOMAN 
 STANDING, HOLDING A BOOK. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Tan-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu. Stamp: Kiyo- 
 masu. Publisher: Komatsuya. About 1712. 
 
 21. TWO LOVERS AND A HOKAN (PROFESSIONAL 
 BUFFOON). 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Not signed. About 1715. 
 
 The lovers are seated side by side and the hokan is entertaining 
 them with his witticisms. 
 
 22. A WOMAN AND HER LOVER SEATED BACK TO 
 BACK. 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Not signed. About 1715. 
 
 23. A MAN LISTENING TO A WOMAN READING 
 ALOUD. 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Not signed. About 1715. 
 
 —26— 
 
TORII KIYONOBU 
 
 24. ICHIKAWA DANJURO AS A SAMURAI SEATED, 
 LOOKING UP AT FUJITA HANANOJO AS A WOM¬ 
 AN HOLDING A PUPPET MOUNTED UPON A BOX. 
 
 Hosoe. Tan-ye. Not signed. Publisher: Nakajima-ya. About 
 1715. 
 
 25. SANJO KANTARO AS A WOMAN SEATED UPON A 
 KOTATSU. 
 
 Hosoe. Kurenai-ye or “red picture.” Colored by hand chiefly 
 with beni. Not signed. About 1718. 
 
 26. PUPPETS BORNE IN A STREET PROCESSION. 
 
 Makimono-ye. Hand-colored. Not signed. No publisher’s mark. 
 About 1718. 
 
 This print was ascribed to Okumura Masanobu by Professor Fen- 
 ollosa (See No. 18 in “The Masters of Ukioye”), but the drawing 
 seems to be that of Torii Kiyonobu, perhaps of earlier date, however, 
 than 1718. 
 
 At the time the print was issued elaborate puppet shows had great 
 popularity in Edo. So great was their vogue that some actors trained 
 themselves to take the role of puppets and to face their audiences with¬ 
 out in any way showing that they were living beings. 
 
 27. ACTOR (UNIDENTIFIED) AS A DANCING GIRL, 
 HOLDING A PUPPET AS DANJURO IN THE ROLE 
 OF SHIRAI GOMPACHI. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Maruko. About 1720. 
 
 An exceptionally beautiful example of the hand colored print 
 known as urushi-ye. 
 
 28. ACTORS AS A WOMAN AND HER LOVER PROM¬ 
 ENADING. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu zu. Publisher: 
 Emiya. About 1725. 
 
 29. THE ACTOR YAMASHITA KINSAKU AS A WOMAN 
 HOLDING A PUPPET OF A COURT LADY. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Emiya. About 1725. 
 
 —27— 
 
TORII KIYONOBU 
 
 30. SANOGAWA MANKIKU AS A GEISHA AND 
 SAKATA HAGINOJO AS HER ATTENDANT. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Emiya. About 1729. 
 
 31. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN THE ROLE OF OISO-NO- 
 TORA, AND KAMEI JUJIRO AS JURO SUKENARI. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1729. 
 
 TORII KIYOMASU 
 
 Whether Kiyomasu was a son or a younger brother of Torii 
 Kiyonobu has been in question until quite recently when, through the 
 researches of Mr. Arthur Morrison, the author of “The Painters of 
 Japan,” it has been learned that he was the eldest of his three sons. 
 It is highly probable that he began to work in his father’s studio in 
 Naniwacho when yet a lad. The circumstances that his seal was used 
 on a print signed by his father (No. 20 in this exhibition) may, of 
 course, indicate nothing more than an accident, but it may signify 
 that the young man had a share in the drawing. His earliest prints 
 show him an accomplished master. He closely assimilated his father’s 
 style, but drew also something from that of Kaigetsudo. After his 
 father’s death he became the head of the Torii line. He died on the 
 second day of the twelfth month of Horeki thirteen, i. e., January 
 4, 1764 - 
 
 32. ICHIKAWA MONNOSUKE AND TAMAZAWA RIN- 
 YA AS SAMURAI WITH BASKET HATS, STAND¬ 
 ING BENEATH A CHERRY TREE. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Tan-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Iga-ya. About 1715. 
 
 33. THE ACTOR TSUTSUI KICHIJURO AS AN OIRAN. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Tan-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu zu. Publisher: 
 Iga-ya. About 1715. 
 
 34. THE ACTOR SANOGAWA MANKIKU AS A WOM¬ 
 AN STANDING BY THE GATE TO A DWELLING 
 AND HOLDING AN UMBRELLA OVER HER HEAD. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Tan-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Iga-ya. About 1715. 
 
 —28— 
 
TORII KIYOMASU 
 
 35. A BIJIN (BEAUTIFUL WOMAN). 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Sumi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Iga-ya. About 1715. 
 
 The striking boldness of the design of this print gives it especial 
 distinction. The clever way in which the crows are utilized to deco¬ 
 rate the kimono and also to strengthen the composition is noteworthy. 
 
 36. THE ACTOR KANTO KOROKU AS A WOMAN 
 STANDING, HOLDING AN UCHIWA (ROUND 
 FAN). 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Sumi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu. Publisher: 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1715. 
 
 This print is perhaps Kiyomasu’s masterpiece. Certainly among 
 his extant works it would be difficult to find another print in which 
 the drawing is marked by such rare elegance and refinement. 
 
 37. WOMAN HOLDING A BABY BOY AND A TOY LAN¬ 
 TERN. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Sumi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu. Publisher: 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1715. 
 
 Here the vigorous brush strokes echo those of Kaigetsudo, but are 
 based upon the work of the Kano masters. 
 
 38. ACTOR (UNIDENTIFIED) AS AN OIRAN. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Tan-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu. Publisher: Iga- 
 ya. About 1715. 
 
 39. ACTOR IN THE ROLE OF A WARRIOR CAPTUR¬ 
 ING A TENGU. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Emi-ya. About 1715. 
 
 The tengu is a mythical man-bird of reputed great ferocity. 
 
 40. SCENE FROM THE DRAMA, “OSHU KOKANE.” 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu. Publisher: Naka- 
 jima-ya. About 1715. 
 
 41. THE ACTOR ICHIKAWA DANJURO AS A WAR¬ 
 RIOR IN WINTER GARB. 
 
 Hosoe. Tan-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: Iga- 
 ya. About 1715. 
 
TORII KirOMASU 
 
 42. THE FIRST IWAI HANSHIRO AS A SAMURAI. 
 
 Hosoe. Sumi-ye, with a touch of color applied by hand. Signed: 
 Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: Iga-ya. About 1720. 
 
 43. SANJO KANTARO AS A WOMAN IN WINTER COS¬ 
 TUME. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Sagami-ya. About 1720. 
 
 44. YAMASHITA KINSAKU AS A PEDDLER. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu. Publisher: Naka- 
 jima-ya. About 1720. 
 
 45. ACTOR (UNIDENTIFIED) AS A WOMAN IN WIN¬ 
 TER COSTUME, HOLDING A BRANCH OF PLUM 
 BLOSSOMS. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Iga-ya. About 1720. 
 
 46. NAKAMURA KIYOSABURO AS A WOMAN CARRY¬ 
 ING A BRANCH OF CHERRY BLOSSOMS. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. No signature nor publisher’s mark. About 
 1720. 
 
 47. SANOGAWA MANKIKU AS A WOMAN STANDING 
 ON THE BANK OF A RIVER. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Izutsu-ya. About 1725. 
 
 48. TOMIZAWA MONTARO AS AN ITINERANT VEN¬ 
 DOR OF CONFECTIONERY. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. About 1730. 
 
 49. the first sawamura sojuro as a man 
 
 STANDING IN FRONT OF A SHOP. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1730. 
 
 —30— 
 

 KIYONOBU 
 
 No. 16. Sawamnra Ivodenji as a dancing girl 
 
KIYONOBU 
 
 Xo. IS. Kamimura Kicliisaburo as Josan no Iliya 
 

 
 •*1 
 
 c 
 
 i 
 
 -jK 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 
TORII KIYOMASU 
 
 50. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. THE SECOND ICHI¬ 
 KAWA DANJURO SEATED, POUNDING SOME SUB¬ 
 STANCE IN A MORTAR; AND THE FIRST 
 SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN DIPPING 
 WATER FROM A TUB. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1730. 
 
 51. OGINO ISABURO AS A SAMURAI STANDING IN A 
 PARLOR, A SAMISEN AT HIS FEET. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Hirano-ya. About 1735. 
 
 52. THE FIRST SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN 
 STANDING BY A TORII. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Hirano-ya. About 1735. 
 
 53. ICHIKAWA EBIZO AS A STREET VENDOR OF 
 SINGING INSECTS. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Hirano-ya. About 1736. 
 
 54. THE FIRST NAKAMURA TOMIJURO IN THE 
 TITLE ROLE OF THE DRAMA, “YAOYA OSHICHI”; 
 SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU AS NISE YOSHISABURO. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1742. 
 
 55. ONOE KIKUGORO IN THE ROLE OF THE STROLL¬ 
 ING SINGER KICHISAN. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Marusan. Probably 1743. 
 
 The early appreciation of the possibilities of the effective combina¬ 
 tion of pale rose, green, and black is one of the striking things in the 
 history of Ukiyo-e art. In this charming print Kiyomasu shows that 
 he was not backward in mastering the new means of expression that 
 color printing placed at his command. The beauty of the patterning 
 is accentuated by the superbly written text which nearly fills the 
 entire background. The text is that of the role, a “shosa” or dance 
 with witty recitative composed by the actor. 
 
 —31— 
 
TORII KIYOMASU 
 
 56. SCENE FROM THE DRAMA, “MYOJIN ONNEN 
 FUTAI KAGAME’; TOMIZAWA SAIJIRO AND 
 ICHIMURA UZAEMON IN THE LEADING ROLES. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1744. 
 
 The beni, originally a pale rose, has faded to a soft yellow, and 
 the green has become a slightly deeper dull yellow. 
 
 57. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. ICHIMURA UZAEMON 
 AS ONIYO SHINZAEMON; ONOE KIKUGORO AS 
 USUGUMO; AND AN UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR IN 
 A MINOR ROLE. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Iga-ya. About 1744. 
 
 58. SUSA-NO-MIKOTO KILLING THE EIGHT-HEADED 
 DRAGON. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Kamimura Kichiemon. 1747 or 1748. 
 
 To understand this print some knowledge of the lunar calendar in 
 use in old Japan is necessary. The beginning of the year was deter¬ 
 mined by astronomical calculation, and New Year’s day was a festival 
 which might fall at any time between the first of January and the last 
 of February according to the Gregorian calendar. The years were 
 grouped in periods or cycles; each had its zodiacal sign and was also 
 distinguished as positive or negative. The months, which had no 
 names, being known by numbers only, were designated as large or 
 small, according to whether they consisted of thirty or twenty-nine 
 days. As the sequence of the large and small months varied from year 
 to year, the necessity for some sort of a calendar will be apparent. 
 
 In this print we have a “little calendar” for the year 1748. An 
 inscription in beni, now faded to a pale yellow, reads: Enkyo Go 
 Boshin Tsuchi-no-e Dai Sho , that is, the large and small months of the 
 dragon year, Enkyo fifth (the same as Kan-en first). Then in black 
 appear a series of combination characters, which only scholars could 
 read, signifying “First small, Second large,” and so on. There being 
 thirteen moons in this year, there are in consequence two tenth months, 
 one designated as “uro.” 
 
 As appropriate to a dragon year, the artist illustrates the well- 
 known story of the killing of the eight-headed dragon which was over¬ 
 come when it became intoxicated through drinking sake conveniently 
 placed in eight large jars. 
 
TORII KIYOMASU 
 
 59 - SCENE FROM A DRAMA. SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU 
 AS KOSUKE; ARASHI TOMINOSUKE AS OKIKU. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Nishimura-ya. About 17S0. 
 
 60. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. IKUSHIMA DAIKICHI AS 
 SHOSHO; SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU AS SOGA NO 
 GORO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Maruko. About 1750. 
 
 61. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. TOMIZAWA SAIJIRO AS 
 A WOMAN ON A WHITE HORSE; SEGAWA 
 KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN LEADING THE HORSE; 
 OTANI HIROJI AS A SAMURAI ACCOSTING THEM. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Eshi (painter) Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. 
 Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1750. 
 
 62. ICHIMURA UZAEMON AS A SAMURAI CARRYING 
 A BASKET HAT. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1752. 
 
 The actor is represented standing outside a fence enclosing grounds 
 in which there is a pine tree, and bamboos hung with poem slips as 
 decorations for the Tanabata festival (seventh day of the seventh 
 month). 
 
 63. SCENE FROM A SHOSA PERFORMANCE BY NAKA¬ 
 MURA KIYOSABURO AND ICHIMURA KAMEZO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: Iga- 
 ya. About 1753. 
 
 Here a citrine replaces the green. From this time forward experi¬ 
 ments with new color schemes were frequent though the range was 
 not wide. 
 
 64. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. ICHIMURA KAMEZO 
 AS YOSAKU; ARASHI TOMINOSUKE AS KOMAN. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Mikawa-ya. About 1754. 
 
 One of the fashions just before the use of a third color block came 
 into vogue, was the introduction of larger masses of black in the 
 patterning. 
 
 —33— 
 
TORII KIYOMASU 
 
 65. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. ARASHI KOROKU A 9 
 MAKOMONO-MAI; ICHIMURA UZAEMON AS 
 KOREMOCHE 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomasu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Izutsu-ya. About 1754. 
 
 HANEKAWA CHINCHO 
 
 This artist, beloved by the Japanese for the esoteric quality of his 
 works, was a samurai born in 1679 in Kawaguchi, near Yedo, who 
 became a ronin and entered the studio of Kiyonobu. He was an 
 erratic person, worked when he felt like it, and scorned a publisher’s 
 offer of permanent support, saying that poverty was the common lot 
 of the samurai. He was that rare thing in Japan, a bachelor. As an 
 ode maker he had high repute. His paintings were sometimes in 
 classic style and signed Chincho Motonobu; and in his later days he 
 called himself Sando Senkan Koji. His prints were few in number 
 and are now extremely rare. He died on the 22nd day of the 7th 
 month of Horeki 4 (1754), aged about seventy-five. 
 
 66. FLOWER ARRANGEMENT. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Hanekawa Chincho zu. Publisher: 
 Komatsu-ya. About 1730. 
 
 HANEKAWA WAGEN 
 
 This is a signature not hitherto recorded. The identity of the user 
 has not been determined. Possibly Wagen is another of Chincho’s 
 artist names. 
 
 67. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. ICHIMURA TAKENO- 
 SUKE AND OGINO ISABURO AS OHARAMI (FAG¬ 
 GOT SELLERS). 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Hanekawa Wagen hitsu. Publisher: 
 Hirano-ya. About 1725. 
 
 68. THE ACTOR YAMASHITA KINSAKU AS A PED¬ 
 DLER. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Hanekawa Wagen hitsu. Publisher: 
 Murata-ya. About 1725. 
 
 —34— 
 
HANEKAWA WAGEN 
 
 The inscription covering a part of the ground is the text of the 
 actor’s role—a witty recitation composed by the actor and given as an 
 interlude. These speeches delivered with a peculiar intonation were 
 much enjoyed by the audiences. 
 
 KATSUKAWA TERUSHIGE 
 
 Nothing is certainly known about Terushige. He is supposed to 
 have been a pupil of Kiyonobu. 
 
 69. ACTOR (UNIDENTIFIED) AS A GEISHA SEATED 
 ON A WOODEN BENCH AND PLAYING A 
 SAMISEN. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Katsukawa Terushige. Publisher: 
 unidentified. About 1725. 
 
 TORII KIYOSHIGE 
 
 This artist was a pupil of Kiyonobu. His prints are rare. 
 
 70. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. SAWAMURA SOJURO AS 
 A MAN STANDING, LOOKING DOWN AT AN¬ 
 OTHER ACTOR WHO HOLDS A MASK OF DAI- 
 KOKU. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyoshige hitsu. Publisher: 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1735. 
 
 71. THE ACTOR MATSUMOTO KOSHIRO. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Torii Kiyoshige hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Murata-ya Jihei. About 1740. 
 
 72. SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU AS A YOUNG SAMURAI 
 CARRYING A BRANCH OF CHERRY BLOSSOMS 
 ACROSS HIS SHOULDER. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Torii Kiyoshige hitsu. 
 Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1750. 
 
 —35— 
 
TORII KIYOTOMO 
 
 TORII KIYOTOMO 
 
 Kiyotomo was a pupil of Kiyonobu. It is probable that he died 
 young. 
 
 73 - ACTOR (UNIDENTIFIED) AS A TEA-HOUSE WAIT¬ 
 RESS. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyotomo hitsu. About 1730. 
 
 OKUMURA MASANOBU 
 
 The artist who exercised the greatest influence on the development 
 of the Ukiyo-e school during the first half of the eighteenth century 
 was Okumura Genpachi, better known by his studio name, Okumurd 
 Masanobu. He is reputed to have been a pupil of Kiyonobu, but the 
 marked individuality of his style in all but his earliest works indicates 
 that his training in that master’s studio was not of long duration. The 
 influence of Kaigetsudo is apparent in some of his early drawings, and 
 also perhaps, in the choice of the studio or “brush name” Hogetsudo 
 (moon over the long grass studio), though this does not appear to 
 have been used by him until fifteen or twenty years after the dispersal 
 of the Kaigetsudo artists in 1714. As many of the prints here shown 
 attest, he was fond of using an imposing array of pseudonyms, but 
 his contemporaries commonly called him Honya (bookseller) Gen¬ 
 pachi, from the fact that he was his own publisher and kept a book 
 and print shop at the sign of the red gourd in Tori-shio-cho. 
 
 It is said that Okumura Masanobu was the first artist to color 
 prints with beni. He must also on his own statement (See Nos. 84 
 and 85 in this exhibition) be accredited as the originator of the pillar 
 print (called by him hashira-ye ), which, in the houses of the common 
 people, took the place of the elaborate hashirakake, or polished and 
 decorated strips of beautiful wood used to hang upon the posts in the 
 houses of wealthy people of the upper classes. Besides these he was 
 the first producer of Ukiye, or perspective pictures; and the phrase 
 “Edo-ye ichiryu ganso,” which is appended to one of his early beni-ye 
 prints is interpreted by Dr. Julius Kurth as claiming the invention of 
 the color print. 
 
 The prints designed by him are not numerous, but are of great 
 
 —36— 
 
OKUMURA MASANOBC 
 
 distinction. No other artist equaled him in ability to produce varied 
 and always charming effects with just a black outline and the two 
 colors, rose and green. 
 
 The date of Masanobu’s birth is variously stated as 1685 and 1690. 
 He died, it is said, in 1764, just on the eve of the great revolution in 
 color printing; Mr. Arthur Morrison, however, names 1768 as the 
 date of his death. 
 
 74. WOMAN SEATED ON A SHOGI (WOODEN 
 
 BENCH). 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Tan-ye. Signed: Okumura Masanobu zu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Komatsu-ya. About 1710. 
 
 A remarkable example of Masanobu’s early work. The clean and 
 supple strokes seem to indicate the artist’s pride in his skill in using 
 the brush. Later he is much more restrained and dignified. 
 
 Upon the round fan held by the woman is a puzzle picture to 
 which she points with a tortoise shell hairpin. 
 
 75. GENJI AOI. 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Not signed. About 1710. 
 
 The title implies a reference to Prince Genji and his wife Aoi. 
 The picture, however, is that of an oiran turning to look at a man 
 who is standing by another oiran, his arm about her waist. 
 
 76. GENJI WAKA MURASAKI. 
 
 Another sheet from the same album as the foregoing. Here the 
 scene is a hokan (professional buffoon) singing while two women 
 play an accompaniment on the samisen, and another woman looks on. 
 
 77. THE YUJO CHOIvARO DESPATCHING HER SOUL 
 TO HER LOVER, IN THE GUISE OF A HORSE 
 BEARING A LETTER. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Tan-ye. Signed: Okumura Masanobu hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Kiku-ya. About 1715. 
 
 The subject is a travesty on the power ascribed to the Taoist rishi, 
 of giving their spirits any desired form and sending them on distant 
 missions. 
 
 78. A TANABATA FANTASY. 
 
 Yokoye. Sumi-ye. Signed: Okumura Masanobu zu. Publisher: 
 Komatsu-ya. About 1720. 
 
 —37— 
 
OKUMURA MASANOBU 
 
 On bamboo branches hung with poem slips for the Tanabata 
 festival and arranged in the form of a boat, an oiran is seated writing 
 a poem, a man lies outstretched reading one, and a kamuro simulates 
 a boatman poling the craft along. 
 
 79 - YOUNG SAMURAI SHIELDING A WOMAN FROM 
 A SHOWER WITH A CLOAK RAISED UPON ONE 
 OF HIS SWORDS. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Not signed. About 1720. 
 
 80. STROLLING PLAYER AND A MONKEY. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Okumura Masanobu hitsu. About 
 1725. 
 
 The player’s kimono bears various devices, among them circular 
 compositions giving the points of the compass and the signs of the 
 zodiac. 
 
 81. THE SECOND ICHIKAWA DANJURO AS A 
 SAMURAI STANDING IN A DRAMATIC ATTI¬ 
 TUDE, WITH FOLDED ARMS. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Okumura Masanobu. Publisher: 
 Okumura Masanobu. About 1725. 
 
 This print was reproduced as one of the illustrations for Pro¬ 
 fessor Fenollosa’s “An Outline of the History of Ukiyo-ye.’’ 
 
 82. BURLESQUE PERFORMANCE IN A NOBLEMAN’S 
 MANSION. 
 
 Yokoye. Hand-colored. Signature on left hand margin trimmed 
 off. Publisher: Okumura Masanobu. About 1735. 
 
 An example of the Ukiye (perspective picture) of which Masano¬ 
 bu was the originator. The performers represent the Shichi-fuku-jin, 
 or Seven Fortune Beings, commonly but erroneously called the Seven 
 Gods of Good Fortune. 
 
 83. WOMAN READING A BOOK. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Hogetsudo. Hashira-ye. 
 . Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu. About 1749. 
 
 A superb example of Masanobu’s work at the height of his power. 
 The signature “sho hitsu,” i. e., genuine brush, indicates that the 
 design was from the master’s own hand and not merely a production 
 
 —3S— 
 
OKUMURA MASANOBU 
 
 issued by him as the publisher. Being, as a rule, mounted as kakemono 
 and kept hanging until entirely discolored, Masanobu’s prints in this 
 form are of extreme rarity. 
 
 84. THE ACTOR SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU. 
 
 \ ery tall hashira-ye, 42%x6% inches. Signed: Hogetsudo 
 Tanchosai Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu Hashira-ye 
 Kongen. Seal: Tanchosai. Probably 1750. 
 
 This and the following number are very important prints. On 
 both Masanobu signs as originator (kongen) of the pillar print 
 (hashira-ye). 
 
 85. A YOUNG MAN IN KOMUSO ATTIRE. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Hogetsudo Shomei 
 Kongen. Hashira-ye Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu. 
 About 1749. 
 
 86. ONOE KIKUGORO AS SHIRAI GOMPACHI. 
 
 Wide Hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Hogetsudo Shomei 
 Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu. Seal: Tanchosai. About 
 1745. 
 
 87. AN OIRAN STANDING AND HER KAMURO 
 SEATED, READING A LETTER. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Hogetsudo Shomei 
 Kongen. Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu. About 1745. 
 
 Apparently these large hand-colored prints, which were commonly 
 mounted as kakemono, continued to be made for several years after 
 the invention of color printing, which was used at first for small 
 pieces only. 
 
 88. WOMAN HOLDING A BATTLEDORE AND A LET¬ 
 TER. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Hogetsudo Shomei. 
 Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu. Seal: Tanchosai. About 
 1748. 
 
 The pattern upon the woman’s kimono is composed of a blossom¬ 
 ing cherry tree and wind screens for use at picnics, the curtains bear¬ 
 ing the names and mon (badges) of popular actors. 
 
 —39— 
 
OKUMURA MASANOBU 
 
 89. LOVERS WALKING UNDER AN UMBRELLA; A 
 MAPLE TREE IN AUTUMNAL FOLIAGE IN THE 
 BACKGROUND. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Hogetsudo Okumura Masanobu Sho 
 hitsu. About 1748. 
 
 90. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ICHIMURA UZAEMON 
 AS TAJIMA-YA SAIJIRO, AND SEGAWA KIKUNOJO 
 AS WAKAKUSA-YA ONATSU STANDING TO¬ 
 GETHER NEAR A TORII. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Hogetsudo Shomei, Okumura Bunkaku 
 Masanobu Sho hitsu. Probably 1750. 
 
 The inscriptions in beni are an ode and an advertisement of prints 
 by Masanobu who was his own publisher. 
 
 91. COOLING OFF IN THE EVENING AT RYOGOKU. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Sumi-ye from key block. Signed: 
 Shomei Hogetsudo Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu. About 
 1745. 
 
 The title is that given by the artist. At the right a young man is 
 talking to a girl seated on a wooden bench; in the center a young 
 woman is playing with a dog; at the left a woman is walking with 
 her lover. 
 
 Impressions taken from key blocks are interesting as they show 
 the appearance of the artist’s original drawings. 
 
 92. BOYS AT PLAY. 
 
 Oban. Beni-ye. Signed: Hogetsudo Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu 
 ga. About 1750. 
 
 93. TWO GEISHAS ATTENDED BY A BOY BEARING A 
 BOX, ONE READING A PLAY-BILL AS SHE WALKS. 
 
 Oban. Sumi-ye from key block. Signed: Hogetsudo Tanchosai 
 Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu ga. 1750. 
 
 In the color impressions of this print a third tint is produced by 
 printing green over beni red. A reproduction is given in color in the 
 catalogue of an exhibition at the Fine Art Society, London, in 1909. 
 
 The patterns on the garments make it possible to date this print 
 and the two succeeding numbers with almost absolute certainly. A 
 number of dated prints show that small checks were in fashion in 
 1750. They do not appear to have remained in vogue after that year. 
 
 -^ 0 — 
 
OKUMURA MASANOBU 
 
 94. THREE GEISHAS ATTIRED AS COURT NOBLES 
 SEATED UNDER A MAPLE TREE IN AUTUMN, 
 HEATING SAKE OVER A FIRE MADE FROM THE 
 FALLEN LEAVES. 
 
 Oban. Beni-ye. Signed : Hogetsudo Tanchosai Okumura Bunkaku 
 Masanobu ga. 1750. 
 
 The subject of this print is an Ukiyo-e version of a well-known 
 story. The emperor Takakura had very beautiful maple trees in the 
 grounds of his palace. One night a storm brought much of their au¬ 
 tumnal foliage to the ground, and in the morning the attendants made 
 a fire of them to warm sake. The nobles feared that this would in¬ 
 cense the emperor but he merely laughed and said the attendants must 
 have been thinking of a classic Chinese ode about making a fire with 
 maple leaves. 
 
 95 - OIRAN INSTRUCTING THEIR KAMURO (GIRL 
 ATTENDANTS) IN WRITING, READING AND DE¬ 
 LIVERING LETTERS. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Shornei Hogetsudo 
 Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu. 1750. 
 
 This print, which is highly regarded by collectors and connoisseurs, 
 is looked upon as one of the most charming beni-ye known. 
 
 96. OIRAN OF THE THREE CAPITALS, EDO, KYOTO, 
 OSAKA. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Shomei Hogetsudo 
 Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Sho hitsu. About 1750. 
 
 Another work of great elegance and charm. After the year 1750 
 Masanobu, who had reached the age of sixty or sixty-five, appears to 
 have designed very few prints. 
 
 97. OIRAN OF OSAKA. 
 
 Right-hand sheet of the preceding triptych. Shows the green 
 faded to a pale yellow while the beni has nearly disappeared. 
 
 OKUMURA TOSHINOBU 
 
 Toshinobu was the son of Okumura Masanobu. He was the pos¬ 
 sessor of marked talent, and designed a considerable number of excel¬ 
 lent prints before an early death brought his career to an end. His 
 known works are all urushi-ye of the hosoe size. 
 
OKUMURA TOSHINOBU 
 
 98. TSUTSUI KICHIJURO AS A SAMURAI WEARING A 
 BASKET HAT. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Yamato Gako Okumura Toshinobu 
 hitsu. About 1725. 
 
 99. SAWAMURA SOJURO AS A SAMURAI WEARING A 
 BASKET HAT. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Not signed. About 1730. 
 
 100. WOMAN DRESSING HER HAIR. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Not signed. About 1732. 
 
 101. ARASHI WAKANO AS A WOMAN STANDING BE¬ 
 NEATH A CHERRY TREE IN BLOOM. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Yamato Gako Okumura Toshinobu 
 hitsu. Publisher: Komatsu-ya. About 1735. 
 
 TSUNEKAWA SHIGENOBU 
 
 This appellation is probably an early studio name of Nishimura- 
 Shigenobu. 
 
 102. THE SECOND ICHIKAWA DANJURO IN THE ROLE 
 OF SUKUNE KANEMICHI. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Gako (artist) Tsunekawa Shigenobu 
 hitsu. Publisher: Yamato-ya. About 1720. 
 
 NISHIMURA SHIGENOBU 
 
 Little is known about the artist who used the studio name Nishi- 
 mura Shigenobu. As a painter he was eccentric in his mannerisms. 
 His prints, though rare, are usually excellent in design. It is gen¬ 
 erally believed that he was the father of Shigenaga. 
 
 103. SANOGAWA MANKIKU AS A FLOWER VENDOR. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Yamato eshi (Japanese artist) Nishi- 
 mura Shigenobu hitsu. Publisher: Izutsu-ya. About 1725. 
 
 —42— 
 
NISHIMURA SHIGENAGA 
 
 NISHIMURA SHIGENAGA 
 
 Nishimura Magosaburo Shigenaga, known also by the studio name 
 Senkado, was the son, born in 1697, of Nishimura Shigenobu. He is 
 said to have kept a tea-house in Tori Abura cho, and afterward to 
 have moved to the part of Edo known as Kanda, and established him¬ 
 self as a publisher. As an artist he had decided ability and is counted 
 as one of the distinguished men of his time. His prints, however, are, 
 as a rule, less charming than those of the Torii artists, and he is 
 likely to be known chiefly as the master under whom Ishikawa 
 Toyonobu, Suzuki Harunobu, and others of the foremost artists of 
 the school were trained. His death is said to have occurred in 1756. 
 
 104. SAWAMURA SOJURO AS USAMI NO SABURO 
 HOLDING A PUPPET. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Not signed. About 1720. 
 
 105. A KOSHO (PAGE IN A DAIMYO’S HOUSEHOLD) 
 CARRYING CHRYSANTHEMUMS IN A BAMBOO 
 FLOWER HOLDER. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Yamato Gako. Nishimura Shigenaga 
 hitsu. Publisher: Iga-ya. About 1728. 
 
 106. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: SANJO KANTARO AND 
 SEGAWA KIKUNOJO. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Nishimura Magosaburo. Publisher: 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1735. 
 
 107. GIRL HOLDING AN UMBRELLA OVER A YOUNG 
 SAMURAI: IN THE BACKGROUND A WOMAN 
 LOOKING AT THEM FROM A HOUSE ON A CLIFF. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Nishimura Shigenaga hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher : Iga-ya. About 1735. 
 
 108. THE BIJIN KINKO. 
 
 Hosoe. Urushi-ye. Signed: Nishimura Shigenaga hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Iga-ya. About 1736. 
 
 Kinko (in Chinese, Ch’ing kao), one of the Rishi, or sages, of 
 the Taoists, having long absented himself from the haunts of men, 
 reappeared riding upon the back of a huge carp as it leaped from the 
 
 —43— 
 
NISHIMURA SHIGENAGA 
 
 water. The substitution of bijin (beautiful women) for sages was a 
 form of pleasantry much indulged in by the artists of the Popular 
 School. 
 
 109. A BIJIN BOKUDO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Nishimura Shigenaga hitsu. About 
 1743. 
 
 A large proportion of the works of the Popular School are more 
 or less humorous. The Japanese analogue of the European shepherd 
 with his pipes is the bokudo or boy who looks after the carabao 
 (water buffalo) and whiles away the hours by playing upon a yokobue 
 (flute). In fine weather the sound of the flutes played by these boys 
 is one of the common features of country life in Japan. When the 
 day s work is done the bokudo usually rides home upon one of the 
 animals he has in charge. In art therefore there is a poetical associa¬ 
 tion of ideas between the carabao and a boy with a flute. Shigenaga 
 makes fun of this by putting a young woman in place of the usual 
 boy and having the animal led by another woman. 
 
 no. ARASHI TOMINOSUKE AS THE SHIRABYOSHI 
 OISO NO TORA; AND OTANI RYUZAEMON AS 
 THE MANZAI DANCER KAJIWARA: ICHIMURA 
 THEATRE. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Nishimura Shigenaga hitsu. Publisher: 
 Mikawa-ya. About 1743. 
 
 The performance w T as a dramatic interlude: the text composed by 
 the actors appears on the background of the print. 
 
 hi. A MUSICAL PERFORMANCE BY SIX POPULAR 
 ACTORS. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Senkado Nishimura 
 Shigenaga Sho hitsu. About 1750. 
 
 Only three instruments are used, each being played by two actors 
 as a pair of lovers. At the right Onoe Kikugoro and Segawa 
 Kikunojo play upon a kokyu; in the centre Nakamura Schichisaburo 
 and Arashi Hinaji play the samisen; at the left Sanogawa Ichimatsu 
 and an actor of the Takinaka line play the yokobue. 
 
 ISHIKAWA TOYONOBU 
 
 One of the foremost among the Ukiyo-e artists of the middle of the 
 
 44- 
 
ISHIKAWA TOYONOBli 
 
 eighteenth century was Ishikawa Toyonobu. He was born in the 
 year 1 7 11 > ar *d is said to have been a remarkably handsome man. 
 While a pupil in the studio of Nishimura Shigenaga he was so greatly 
 admired by the daughter of the proprietor of an inn called Kasuya, 
 in Kodenma-cho, that a marriage was arranged between them. Hav¬ 
 ing thus become the inn-keeper’s son-in-law, Toyonobu, whose per¬ 
 sonal name was Ishikawa Hichibei, became known locally as Kasuya 
 Hichibei. To his ability as an artist the prints shown in this exhibition 
 bear witness. After he succeeded to the business of his father-in-law 
 which was presumably about the beginning of the Meiwa period he 
 gave up print designing as a vocation, though he continued to publish 
 an occasional work from time to time, his latest probably being one 
 of those (No. 145) here exhibited. He lived to the age of 75, dying 
 on the 25th of the 5th month of 1785. 
 
 112. YOUNG WOMAN HOLDING A BATTLEDORE AND 
 A SHUTTLECOCK; AND HOTEI LOOKING OVER 
 HER SHOULDER. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Murata-ya Jihei. About 1738. 
 
 113. GEISHA HOLDING A BOOK AND A BACHI (AN 
 IMPLEMENT USED IN PLAYING THE SAMISEN). 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Urushi-ye. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa Shuha 
 Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Mark not identified. About 1738. 
 
 114. AN OIRAN. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Murata-ya Jihei. About 1740. 
 
 115. YOUNG WOMAN COMING FROM THE BATH. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Murata-ya Jihei. About 1740. 
 
 116. THE FIRST SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU AS A YOUNG 
 MAN PLAYING A YOKOBUE (FLUTE). 
 
 Hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa Shuha 
 Toyonobu zu. No publisher’s mark but print has been much cut 
 down. About 1742. 
 
 117. WOMAN OPENING AN UMBRELLA. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1745. 
 
 —45— 
 
ISHIKAWA TOYONOBU 
 
 118. THE FIRST SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU AS A MAN 
 
 CARRYING AN ODAWARA LANTERN AND A 
 CLOSED UMBRELLA._ 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. About 1745. 
 
 119. WOMAN WRITING A LETTER. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1748. 
 
 120. THE FIRST SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN 
 READING A LETTER. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1748. 
 
 1 21. WOMAN HOLDING A SMALL LANTERN AND A 
 ROUND FAN BEARING THE MON OF SANOGAWA 
 ICHIMATSU. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Hand-colored. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1750. 
 The grammar of the line composition in this delightful print is 
 flawless. 
 
 122. WOMAN HOLDING A PIPE. 
 
 Companion print to the foregoing. Same size, signature, pub¬ 
 lisher, and date. 
 
 123. SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU AS A YOUNG WOMAN 
 HOLDING A PUPPET. 
 
 Chuban. Beni-ye. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa Shuha Toyonobu zu. 
 Publisher: Urukogata-ya. 1750. 
 
 124. SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU AS A YOUNG MAN 
 SEATED ON A BENCH, SHOWING A BOOK TO 
 TWO GIRLS STANDING BEFORE HIM. 
 
 Oban. Beni-ye. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa Shuha Toyonobu zu. 
 Publisher: Maruko. About 1750. 
 
 125. A GEISHA DANCING THE HARUGOMA ODORI 
 WHILE A COMPANION PLAYS A SAMISEN AND 
 ANOTHER BEATS A DRUM. 
 
 Oban. Beni-ye. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa Shuha Toyonobu zu. 
 About 1750. 
 
 —46— 
 
KIYOMASU 
 
 No. 8i». A Bijin (Beautiful Woman) 
 

KIYOMASU 
 
 No. 36. The actor Kanto Koroku in a female role 
 
KIYOMASU 
 
 Calendar for 1748. Susa no Mikoto killing 
 eight-headed dragon 
 
 No. 58. 
 
 the 
 
OKUMURA MASANOBU 
 
 Xo. 9-t. Geishas as court nobles heating sake with 
 of maple leaves 
 
 a fire 
 
ISHIKAWA TOYONOBU 
 
 126. THREE YOUNG WOMEN HOLDING PUPPETS. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Ishikawa Toyonolu 
 hitsu. About 1750. 
 
 Although designed for cutting into three sheets if desired, the 
 three together make an effective composition. 
 
 127. STREET SCENE IN FRONT OF A SHOP FOR THE 
 SALE OF COSMETICS AND ACTOR’S WIGS. 
 
 Yokoye. Beni-ye. Signed: Ishikawa Toyonobu hitsu. Publisher : 
 Urukogata-ya. 1750. 
 
 128. 
 
 THREE WAKASHU 
 ATTIRE). 
 
 (YOUNG MEN IN WOMEN’S 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Ishikawa Toyonobu 
 hitsu. Publisher: Kamimura Kichiemon. About 1752. 
 
 129. 
 
 THREE PAIRS OF LOVERS 
 BRELLAS. 
 
 WALKING UNDER UM- 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Ishikawa Toyonobu 
 hitsu. Publisher: Maruko. About 1752. 
 
 In marvelous preservation; the colors as when first printed. 
 
 130. TAKING THE FRESH BREEZE AT RYOGOKU. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Ishikawa Toyonobu 
 hitsu. Publisher: Kamimura Kichiemon. About 1752. 
 
 The title is that written by the artist. The scene is the bank 
 of the Sumida river at Ryogoku, Edo. 
 
 131. FOUR POPULAR ACTORS. 
 
 Yokoye. Beni-ye. Signed: Ishikawa Toyonobu zu. Publisher- 
 Maruko. About 1752. 
 
 From right to left: Sanogawa Ichimatsu as a woman holding 
 a large hat, Nakamura Kiyozo as a samuraij Sanogawa IVlankiku as 
 a woman holding a book; Nakamura Kumetaro as a samurai holding 
 a bunch of narcissus. 
 
 132. SAYONARA. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Ishikawa Toyonobu hitsu. Publisher- 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1752. 
 
 —47— 
 
ISHIKAWA TOYONOBU 
 
 133. SCENE FROM THE DRAMA “UTAGAWA SHIRO- 
 GORO KO”: SAWAMURA SOIURO AS MATSUO; 
 AZUMA TOZO AS SAKURAMARU. 
 
 Oban. Beni-ye. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa Shuha Toyonobu zu. 
 Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1753. 
 
 134. THE FIRST NAKAMURA TOMIJURO IN A FEMALE 
 ROLE. 
 
 Narrow Oban. Beni-ye. Signed: Ishikawa Toyonobu. Publisher: 
 Nishimura; shop name Eijudo. About 1754. 
 
 135. YOUNG LOVERS WALKING UNDER AN UM¬ 
 BRELLA. 
 
 Oban. Beni-ye. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa Shuha Toyonobu zu. 
 Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1754. 
 
 136. THE RIDING LESSON. 
 
 Large Yokoye. Hand-colored. Signed: Ishikawa Shuha Toyonobu 
 zu. No publisher’s mark. 
 
 This is a very unusual print, the background being printed while 
 the rest of the color is applied by hand. 
 
 137. MUSUME UNDER A WILLOW TREE IN A GALE 
 OF WIND. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Beni, pearl gray, and green. Signed: Ishikawa Toyo¬ 
 nobu zu. Publisher: Maruko. About 1760. 
 
 138. MUSUME LEAPING FROM KIYOMIZU TEMPLE 
 WITH AN UMBRELLA AS A PARACHUTE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Beni, pearl gray, and yellow. Signed: Tanjodo Ishi¬ 
 kawa Shuha ga. Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1760. 
 
 139. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN CARRYING AN 
 UMBRELLA. 
 
 Oban hosoe. Beni, taisha, and blue. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1761. 
 
 Here Toyonobu successfully imitates the style of Kiyomitsu. The 
 drawing has an added charm of his own. 
 
ISHIKAWA TOYONOBU 
 
 140. YOUNG WOMAN STANDING IN A PARLOR, READ¬ 
 ING A LETTER. 
 
 Oban. Beni, Indian red, and blue. Signed: Tanjodo Ishikawa 
 Shuha Toyonobu zu. About 1761. 
 
 141. AN AWABI SHELL DIVER STANDING ON THE 
 BEACH AT ISE WRINGING THE WATER FROM 
 HER GARMENT. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Printed in beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Tanjodo 
 Ishikawa Shuha ga. Publisher: Tomioka. About 1762. 
 
 142. AN OIRAN SEATED UPON HER BED, WRITING AN 
 
 INSCRIPTION ON AN UCHIWA (ROUND FAN). 
 
 Koban. Full color. Signed: Ishikawa Shuha. Seal: Ishikawa. 
 
 Imprint: Kyosen Ren Chu. 1764 or 1765. 
 
 Calendar for 1765 made in all probability toward the end of the 
 preceding year. The inscription on the fan reads: “Meiwa ni ki-no-e 
 tora. The numerals for the large months appear, in strangely 
 formed characters, in the pattern with which the bed is ornamented. 
 
 143. AMAGOI KOMACHI (PRAYING-FOR-RAIN KOMA- 
 CHI). 
 
 Chuban. Full color. Not signed. 1764 or 1765. 
 
 Calendar for 1765. The numerals for the large months appear 
 as the pattern on the servant’s kimono. 
 
 In the loan exhibition of March, 1908, this print was ascribed to 
 Kiyomitsu. That attribution is now believed to have been erroneous. 
 The resemblance to prints in the Harunobu manner by Toyonobu 
 which have come to light since 1908 makes it more probable that the 
 ascription should be to that artist. 
 
 The: subject is a modern analogue of one of the famous incidents 
 in the life of the poetess Ono no Komachi. 
 
 144. LOVERS MEETING AT A WELL. 
 
 Koban. Full color. Signed: Ishikawa Shuha zu. Publisher: 
 Urukogata-ya. 
 
 In this print Toyonobu tries his hand at a design in the new style 
 originated by Suzuki Harunobu. It is almost the latest of his works. 
 Prosperous and well along in years he had at the time it was done, 
 nearly given up print designing. 
 
 —49— 
 
ISHIKAWA TOYONOBU 
 
 The subject is a modern analogue of the classic story of a boy 
 and girl who played together by a well and formed an attachment 
 that neither time nor separation could subdue. 
 
 145. AN OIRAN SEATED BEFORE A TANK OF GOLD¬ 
 FISH; HER KAMURO STANDING AND HOLDING 
 A TURTLE. 
 
 Chuban. Signed : Ishikawa Shuha ga. Series : Enshi Shichi-fuku- 
 jin. About 1776. 
 
 This is an interesting print. The title shows that it is one of a 
 set of seven, representing women as personifications of the Seven 
 Fortune Beings. Toyonobu’s age when it was produced was about 
 sixty-five years. So long as he designed prints it is evident that he 
 meant to be in the fashion. Here the style of Koryusai has been so 
 completely assimilated that were it not for the signature it would 
 almost certainly be ascribed to that artist. It is the print described 
 by Professor Fenollosa in “The Masters of Ukioye” where it is listed 
 as No. 169. 
 
 TORII KIYONOBU II 
 
 The identity of the artist who designed the beni-ye prints bearing 
 the signature Torii Kiyonobu has greatly puzzled students of the 
 history of the Ukiyo-e school. As the family records of the Torii 
 line make no mention of a second Kiyonobu nor indicate that Kiyo- 
 masu’s short-lived son Torii Shiro designed any prints Mr. Arthur 
 Morrison in “The Painters of Japan” expresses the opinion that the 
 prints in question were designed by the first Kiyonobu and were 
 issued, therefore, prior to the year 1729 when his death occurred. This 
 view is echoed by Mr. Laurence Binyon in his “Painting in the Far 
 East.” So far as the date is concerned, the solution of the enigma 
 comes through the chronicle of the Edo stage. The actors represented 
 in the beni-ye signed Kiyonobu, were of a period later than 1729, as 
 for instance the first Sanogawa Ichimatsu who made his debut in 
 Kyoto in the winter of 1733-1734 (Kioho 18), and whose first appear¬ 
 ance in Edo was in November, 1741 (Kwampo 1), in one of the 
 wakashu (young man) roles for which he is famous. And the 
 inscription on the Print No. 157 in this exhibition states that it repre¬ 
 sents Ichikawa Ebizo, which fixes the date of the print as later than 
 
 —50— 
 
TORII KIYONOBU II 
 
 1 735 > as, after the death of the first Danjuro in 1704, the name 
 Ichikawa Ebizo was not used until the second Danjuro adopted it in 
 November, 1735 (Kyoho 20). These prints then, furnish indubi¬ 
 table proof that there was a second Torii Kiyonobu, who can hardly 
 have been other than Kiyomasu’s son Torii Shiro. And proof that 
 hand-colored prints were made as late as 1742 is afforded by Nos. 53 
 and 116 which represent Ichimatsu and cannot therefore be earlier 
 than the date of his debut on the Edo stage. 
 
 146. THE ACTOR ICHIMURA UZAEMON AS A SAMU¬ 
 RAI IN WINTER COSTUME. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Gako (artist) Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. 
 
 Publisher: Kamimura. About 1743. 
 
 This is a specimen of the earliest style of the beni-ye print, done, 
 apparently, within the first year after printing from color-blocks came 
 into vogue. The new process at once caused a modification in the 
 designs, and particularly in the patterns with which garments were 
 enriched. Details became finer and more exquisitely worked out. The 
 masterly disposition of the pale rose and green masses in this com¬ 
 position is noteworthy. 
 
 147. OTANI HIROJI AND SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU IN 
 A SCENE FROM THE DRAMA “YANONE SOGA.” 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu hitsu. Publisher: 
 Iga-ya. About 1744. 
 
 148. SCENE FROM A DRAMA. SEGAWA KIKUJIRO AS 
 UKARUMO, WIFE OF HASEBA; AND SANOGAWA 
 ICHIMATSU AS THE TSUZUMI PLAYER GEN- 
 SANMI YORIMASA. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1746. 
 
 149. ICHIMURA KAMEZO IN THE ROLE OF SOGA NO 
 GORO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1746. 
 
 The softness and brilliance of the color attests the growing skill 
 of the printers. 
 
 —51— 
 
TORXI KIYONOBU II 
 
 150. YOSHIZAWA AYAME AS A COURT LADY STAND¬ 
 ING ON THE ENGAWA (VERANDA) OF A HOUSE; 
 AND A FALCON BRINGING HER A PACKET AT¬ 
 TACHED TO ITS FEET. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Mikawa-ya. About 1746. 
 
 151. FUJIKAWA HEIKURO IN THE ROLE OF THE FA¬ 
 MOUS SWORDSMITH MASAMUNE, AND MAT¬ 
 SUSHIMA KICHISABURO AS RAI KUNETSUGU HIS 
 PUPIL AND ASSISTANT. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Mark not identified. About 1748. 
 
 152. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ARASHI KOROKU AS 
 MAKOMONO MAI, AND ICHIMURA UZAEMON 
 AS TAIRA NO KOREMOCHI. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Kamimura Kichiemon. About 1748. 
 
 153. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ARASHI TOMINOSUKE 
 AS AN OIRAN WALKING UNDER AN UMBRELLA 
 WITH HER LOVER IMPERSONATED BY ICHI¬ 
 MURA KAMEZO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Iga-ya. About 1748. 
 
 154. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: SANOGAWA ICHI- 
 MATSU AS A MAN SEATED IN A HOUSE AND 
 WATCHING SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN 
 WHO HAS CUT THE CHOZUBASHI (WATER 
 HOLDER) IN TWO WITH A SWORD. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1749. 
 
 155. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU 
 AS THE UCHIWA PEDDLER HANSAKU; YAMA¬ 
 MOTO IWANOJO AS KATSURAGI. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Maruko. About 1749. 
 
 —52— 
 
TORII KIYONOBU II 
 
 156. THREE FAMOUS ACTORS. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, 
 hitsu. Publisher: Karnimura. Probably 1749. 
 
 The actors are represented as three women holding umbrellas: 
 Onoe Kikugoro (right) standing by a cherry tree; Sanogawa Ichi- 
 matsu (centre) by a willow tree; Sanogawa Senzo (left) by a maple 
 tree. 
 
 157. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ICHIKAWA EBIZO AS 
 MUSASHI BO BENKEI TALKING TO TWO BOYS. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1752. 
 
 158. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ICHIKAWA EBIZO AS 
 MUSHA-NO-SUKE SEATED IN AN UPPER ROOM, 
 GAZING AT THE MYSTERIOUSLY PROJECTED 
 IMAGE OF OCHIYO (SEGAWA KIKUNOJO) WHO 
 IS IN THE ROOM BELOW. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Nakajima-ya. About 1752. 
 
 159 - THE first sanogawa ichimatsu as a young 
 
 NOBLEMAN STANDING BENEATH A PLUM TREE. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Marusan. About 1754. 
 
 160. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: OTANI ONIJI AS AN 
 OTOKODATE STRIPPED FOR FIGHTING, HOLD¬ 
 ING OUT A SAKE CUP TO A WOMAN—SEGAWA 
 KIKUNOJO—WHO KNEELS BEFORE HIM. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1754. 
 
 161. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: THE ACTORS UTA- 
 KAWA SHIROGORO AND ONOE KIKUGORO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Mark not identified. About 1754. 
 
 The scene is in front of a Gusoku-ya, or armorer’s shop. Shirogoro 
 is seated examining his armor, and Kikugoro stands beside him as a 
 woman holding a spear. 
 
TOKII KIVONOBC II 
 
 162. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ICHIMURA UZAEMON 
 AS OGURI; SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS TERUTE NO 
 HIME. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Maruko. About 1754. 
 
 163. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: BANDO HIKOSABURO 
 AS ARAKI SAEMON; NAKAMURA SUKEGORO AS 
 OSAKA TERADA HATANOSUKE. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Nakajima-ya. 
 
 164. THE FIRST SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU IN THE 
 
 ROLE OF IKE NO SHOJI TOKIKADO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyonobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Kamimura Kichiemon. About 1755. 
 
 TORII KIYOHIRO 
 
 Kiyohiro was a pupil of Kiyomasu, and was perhaps, his son. He 
 was a talented artist who probably died young. No details about 
 his life are known. His extant works can all be placed within the 
 years from about 1750 to 1758. 
 
 165. A GEISHA CARRYING A CLOSED UMBRELLA AND 
 TURNING TO LOOK BEHIND HER WHILE WALK¬ 
 ING IN A STREET IN THE YOSHIWARA. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyohiro, hitsu. About 1754. 
 
 166. THREE FAMOUS ACTORS. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed : Torii Kiyohiro, hitsu. 
 Publisher: Maruko. About 1754. 
 
 The subject here is a play upon words. Sanogawa Ichimatsu, the 
 actor at the right, is compared to the blossoming plum tree; Naka¬ 
 mura Tomijuro is likened to the graceful willow; Nakamura Kume- 
 taro’s beauty is matched with that of the cherry flowers. 
 
 Partly as a matter of economy, prints of the size known as hosoe 
 were usually printed as triptychs but were seldom kept in that condi¬ 
 tion. Unsevered triptychs are now extremely rare and highly prized 
 by collectors. 
 
 —54— 
 
TORII KIYOHIRO 
 
 167. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN THE ROLE OF YOSHIJI, 
 AND YAMASHITA KINSAKU AS HER FELLOW 
 SHIOKUMI (SALT WATER CARRIER). 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyohiro, hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1755. 
 
 The shiokumi were persons, usually women, employed to dip 
 water from the sea and to carry it to the pans where salt was made 
 from it by evaporation. 
 
 168. ICHIKAWA YAOZO IN THE ROLE OF SOGA NO 
 GORO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyohiro, hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Iga-ya. About 1755. 
 
 169. SUGOROKU PLAYERS. 
 
 Oban. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyohiro, hitsu. Publisher: Uru¬ 
 kogata-ya. About 1755. 
 
 A young woman with a pipe in her hand is watching another 
 woman and a young man play the game of sugoroku. The game 
 has many varieties. That here depicted is a kind of backgammon. Its 
 vogue died out some time ago and it is not now generally known. 
 
 170. THE FIRST NAKAMURA TOMIJURO IN THE ROLE 
 OF OMI NO OKANE. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyohiro, hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Urukogata-ya. About 1755. 
 
 171. A DETENTION. 
 
 Oban. Three-color print. Signed: Torii Kiyohiro, hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher. Sakai-ya. About 1756. 
 
 A young woman standing on the engawa (veranda) of a house 
 by playfully grasping his half-opened umbrella detains a man who is 
 bidding her good-bye. 
 
 In this print blue (now changed to olive) is added to the beni and 
 green. 
 
 KATSUKAWA SHUNSUI 
 
 Shunsui was a painter of distinction and a pupil of Miyagawa 
 Choshun (1682-1752) one of the most famous of the Ukiyo-e artists 
 
 —55— 
 
KATSUKAWA SHUNSUI 
 
 who confined himself entirely to painting and designed neither prints 
 nor book illustrations. Shunsui, who changed the family name to 
 Katsu-Miyagawa and then to Katsukawa, designed a very few prints. 
 He is chiefly known as the master of Shunsho. 
 
 172. MITSU-WA: EGUCHI: IZUTSU. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: To (East) Bu (Prov¬ 
 ince of Musashi) Gashi (Painter) Katsu Shunsui. Seal: Shunsui. 
 Publisher: Tsuru-ya Kiyeimon. About 1754. 
 
 The Japanese titles of the three pictures forming this triptych 
 refer to incidents in the classic romance “Ise Monogatari.” At 
 the right a man holds a kite in the form of a kimono, and a 
 girl holds the string and a reel. In the centre a girl is carrying 
 chrysanthemums in a flower-bucket and another girl is coming forward 
 through a portierre. At the left a girl stands and a young man sits 
 before a mirror; and back of them is a vista of a garden with the 
 water-holder and the well curb. 
 
 This print is a great rarity. Very few prints by Shunsui are in 
 existence, and so far as known to the compiler of this catalogue, no 
 other unsevered triptych. 
 
 TORII KIYOMITSU 
 
 Torii Hanzo Kiyomitsu was the second son, born in 1735, of 
 Kiyomasu, and was his successor as the head of the Torii line. His 
 merit as an artist has as yet hardly been appreciated at its true worth. 
 He was a great painter of kamban, and a facile designer of prints. To 
 him belongs the honor of being the first artist to use three color-blocks. 
 He was constantly making experiments and was the pioneer in the 
 forward movement that culminated in the perfecting of full color 
 printing. He was however, overshadowed by the genius of Suzuki 
 Harunobu who, instead of Kiyomitsu, was the first to make tri¬ 
 umphant use of the resources thus placed at his command. Kiyomitsu 
 tried to design in the new style inaugurated by Harunobu, but with¬ 
 out distinguished success, and, although he lived until 1785, his prints 
 issued after the eventful year 1764 were very few. 
 
 173. THE FOURTH ICHIKAWA DANJURO IN HIS 
 FAMOUS ROLE OF THE OTOKODATE SUKEROKU. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 
 Yamashiro-ya. About 1756. 
 
 —56— 
 
TORII KIYOMITSU 
 
 174 - GEISHA AND ATTENDANT. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu, hitsu. Publisher. 
 Sakai-ya. About 1757. 
 
 175. WOMEN PROCEEDING TO MAKE NEW YEAR’S 
 CALLS. 
 
 Oban. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu, hitsu. Seal: Kiyo¬ 
 mitsu. No publisher’s mark. About 1757. 
 
 176. SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU AS SOGA NO GORO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Iga-ya. About 1758. 
 
 177. THREE PAIRS OF LOVERS. 
 
 Unsevered hosoe triptych. Beni-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu, 
 hitsu. Publisher: Sakai-ya. About 1756. 
 
 Instead of beni and green, two tones of beni have been used. 
 
 178. OTANI HIROJI AND NAKAMURA SUKEGORO IN 
 A SCENE FROM A DRAMA DEPICTED ON A CUR¬ 
 TAIN AT THE ICHIMURA THEATRE. 
 
 Hosoe. Printed in beni, yellow and gray. Signed: Torii Kiyo¬ 
 mitsu ga. Publisher: Igeta-ya. About 1758. 
 
 179. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ICHIKAWA YAOZO AS 
 TOKOBEI; SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS OHATSU, 
 STANDING TOGETHER UNDER AN UMBRELLA 
 ON THE BANK OF A STREAM. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1758. 
 
 180. THE ACTORS ICHIKAWA RAIZO AND NAKAMURA 
 MATSUE. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1758. 
 
 181. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ICHIKAWA RAIZO AS 
 SOGA NO GORO TOKIMUNE; BANDO AIZO. AS 
 SHOZO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1758. 
 
TORI! KIYOMITSC 
 
 182. FOUR GEISHAS UNDER A HUGE UMBRELLA 
 DANCING TO THE MUSIC OF A SAMISEN PLAYED 
 BY A FIFTH GIRL. 
 
 Yokoye. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1758. 
 
 183. ICHIKAWA KORAZO AS KAWA TSUSABURO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1758. 
 
 184. ICHIYAMA HICHIZO IN THE HOLE OF TERUTE 
 NO HIME. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1758. 
 
 185. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN IN KOMUSO 
 ATTIRE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Iwato-ya. About 1760. 
 
 186. WOMAN ENTERING A ROOM. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1760. 
 
 187. THE ACTOR SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN 
 HOLDING A HAIR PIN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Beni, blue, and green. Signed : Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Matsumura. About 1760. 
 
 188. ICHIMURA HAZAIMON IN THE ROLE OF NA¬ 
 GOYA SANZA: ICHIMURA KAMEZO AS HIS BOY 
 ATTENDANT. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Igeta-ya. About 1761. 
 
 189. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: SEGAWA KIKUNOJO 
 AS SHIRABYOSHI MIWA; ICHIMURA KAMEZO AS 
 WATAHOSHI-URA. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, taisha (Indian red), and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyo¬ 
 mitsu, hitsu. Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1761. 
 
 —58— 
 
TORII KIYOMITSU 
 
 190. THE NO DANCE “MUSUME DOJOJL” 
 
 Yokoye. Beni, blue, and green. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Maruko. About 1761. 
 
 The color scheme in this print is a novelty. Constant experiments 
 were tried during this year and the four or five that succeeded it. 
 
 191. A PICNIC PARTY UNDER THE CHERRY TREES. 
 
 Yokoye. Beni, blue, and green. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Maruko. About 1761. 
 
 192. BANDO HIKOSABURO IN THE ROLE OF ONO NO 
 YORIKAGE. 
 
 Hosoe. Deep beni, pale beni, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu 
 ga. Publisher: Ise-ya. About 1761. 
 
 193. THE SECOND SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN 
 READING A LETTER. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Beni, pearl gray, and green. Signed: Torii Kiyo¬ 
 mitsu ga. Publisher: Maruko. About 1761. 
 
 194- SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN THE ROLE OF ISHINO 
 MAYE. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, blue, and green. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu, hitsu. 
 Publisher: Iwato-ya. About 1761. 
 
 195- HANAKAWA ICHINOJO AS AKANE GOZEN, PLAY¬ 
 ING UPON A TSUZUMI. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, taisha, and blue. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. 
 Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1761. 
 
 196. SCENE FROM THE POPULAR DRAMA “YAOYA 
 OSHICHI”: SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN THE TITLE 
 ROLE; SAKAHIYAMA SANGORO AS KICHISABURO, 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, taisha, and pearl gray. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu 
 ga. Publisher: Urukogata-ya. About 1761. 
 
 “Yaoya Oshichi” (Oshichi the grocer’s daughter) is a dramatiza¬ 
 tion of the story of a young girl who was domiciled at the district 
 temple until her father’s house and shop, which had been destroyed by 
 fire, could be rebuilt. While there she fell in love with Kichisaburo, 
 the kosho (page) of a nobleman who dwelt near by. When she had 
 to return to her home she was disconsolate, and in order that she 
 might be sent back to the temple she set fire to the house and started 
 
 —59— 
 
TORII KIYOMITSU 
 
 a great conflagration that burned a large part of Edo. For this, her 
 guilt being discovered, she was put to death. 
 
 197- NAKAMURA MATSUE AS A WOMAN READING 
 THE ADDRESS UPON A LETTER. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, blue, and green. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Kamimura Kichiemon. About 1761. 
 
 198. THE SECOND SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN 
 HOLDING AN UMBRELLA. 
 
 Oban hosoe. Beni, blue, and green. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu 
 ga. Publisher: Maruko. About 1761. 
 
 Segawa Kikunojo was the stage name of the leading representative 
 of a line of actors who made a specialty of female roles. The 
 rise of the theatre in Japan dates from the beginning of the seven¬ 
 teenth century, when Sadoshima Masakichi erected a stage in the dry 
 bed of the river at Kyoto. From this circumstance actors were called 
 Kawaramono (river-bed folk or vagabonds), an epithet denoting the 
 contempt in which their profession was held. Making their way to 
 Yedo, Sadoshima and his company had to content themselves with a 
 site in the Yoshiwara. Until 1643 the players were of both sexes, 
 but in that year actresses were forbidden by law to act with actors, 
 and it became necessary that female roles should be taken by men. To 
 perfect themselves in these roles the men who essayed them habitually 
 dressed in woman’s clothes and followed women’s occupations when 
 off the stage. The result was that the simulation became unconscious 
 and an extraordinary degree of excellence was attained, the deception, 
 says Brinkley, “being so perfect as to defy the closest scrutiny.” The 
 second Kikunojo was one of the most famous actors of his time. The 
 large number of prints representing him attest his popularity. He 
 died in 1773 at the age of thirty-two. 
 
 199. ARASHI HINAJI IN THE ROLE OF MAIKO URYU. 
 
 Oban hosoe. Beni, yellow, and blue. Signed. Torii Kiyomitsu zu. 
 Publisher: Maruko. About 1761. 
 
 200. THE FOURTH ICHIKAWA DANJURO. 
 
 Oban hosoe. Beni, yellow, gray, and green. Signed: Torii Kiyo¬ 
 mitsu zu. Publisher: Maruko. About 1763. 
 
 —60— 
 
TORII KIYOMITSU 
 
 201. WOMAN COMING FROM THE BATH. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Beni and pearl gray. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu, hitsu. 
 Publisher. Maruko. About 1762. 
 
 202. SCENE FROM A DRAMA: THE ACTORS ICHIKAWA 
 KOMAZO AND NAKAMURA MATSUE. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. Publisher. Eiiudo. About 
 1765. 
 
 This is an important print. It shows one of Kiyomitsu’s early 
 efforts in the new manner devised by Harunobu. How like, yet how 
 different is Kiyomitsu’s treatment! The embossing to imitate crepe 
 and the red plum blossoms printed under the blue upon the man’s 
 kimono, are unlike anything used by Harunobu. The publisher, 
 desirous of being known in connection with these novel prints, appends 
 his name instead of merely the usual publisher’s mark. 
 
 203. INK PROOF FROM THE KEY BLOCK OF THE PRE¬ 
 CEDING. 
 
 This shows an experiment in colouring which was rejected as 
 unsatisfactory, and not carried very far. 
 
 204. ICHIKAWA KOMAZO AS A MAN SEATED ON A 
 BENCH NEAR A RIVER; BANDO AIZO AS A 
 WOMAN STANDING BEFORE HIM WAVING HER 
 FAN TO DRIVE AWAY THE FIREFLIES. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. Probably 1765. 
 
 Another print in the Harunobu manner, which, however, Kiyo¬ 
 mitsu seems never to have completely assimilated. It can hardly be 
 possible that many of the unsigned prints usually attributed to Haru¬ 
 nobu were from his hand. 
 
 205. ICHIKAWA YAOZO AS A MAN STANDING BY A 
 STREAM IN WHICH IRIS ARE GROWING. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu. About 1765. 
 
 206. NAKAMURA NAKAZO IN THE ROLE OF KAMAYA 
 BUHEI. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. Publisher: Mark not 
 identified. About 1766. 
 
 —61— 
 
TORII KIYOMITSU 
 
 207. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN THE ROLE OF KIYOHIME. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. Publisher: Mori. About 
 1769. 
 
 In this print Kiyomitsu attempts to work in the style of Shunsho, 
 but he is too strongly individual to adapt himself entirely to the man¬ 
 ner of another, though such is the fashion of the day that he must do 
 so if he would retain any vestige of his popularity. 
 
 208. BANDO HIKOSABURO AS A YOUNG MAN CARRY¬ 
 ING AN UMBRELLA OVER HIS SHOULDER AND 
 AN ODAWARA LANTERN SUSPENDED FROM HIS 
 SWORD HILT. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Torii Kiyomitsu ga. About 1769. 
 
 So far as known this is Kiyomitsu’s finest print in the Harunobu 
 manner. The many hues into which the purple of the haori (coat) 
 has changed, furnish an instructive object lesson for determining such 
 transformations in other prints. 
 
 SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 The date of the birth of this eminent artist, who should be con¬ 
 sidered the central figure in Ukiyo-e has not been ascertained. It is 
 known that he died on the 15th day of the 6th month of Meiwa 7 
 (1770) and Shiba Kokan who was his pupil and doubtless wrote 
 that of which he had knowledge, tells us that he had then scarcely 
 passed his fortieth year. There is reason to believe that this is correct: 
 it accords with the probabilities as indicated by his published work. 
 He was a pupil of Nishimura Shigenaga, and at first seems to have 
 devoted himself largely to drawing designs to be reproduced in black 
 outline only, for book illustration, though he made a few beni-ye and 
 three-color prints both of actors and of other subjects, in which he 
 followed closely the innovations made by Torii Kiyomitsu. That he 
 was the originator of some of the innovations, is not unlikely. As 
 with all artists of marked ability, his individual characteristics mani¬ 
 fested themselves early, but it was not until about 1763 that he began 
 to attract especial attention. From that time on until his untimely 
 death he held the centre of the stage against all rivals. His invention 
 of a new style of print to take advantage of the possibilities of full 
 color printing when the difficulties that stood in its way had been 
 overcome, has already been mentioned in the introduction to this 
 
 —62— 
 
TOYONOBU 
 
 No. 142. Oiran writing an Inscription on an ueMwa 
 
\rm. 
 
 TOYONOBU 
 
 No. 144. Lovers meeting at a well 
 


SUZUKIHARUNOBU 
 
 catalogue, and need not here be again recited. In the serenity and 
 charm of his compositions he is unsurpassed. The word “composition,” 
 as here used, does not signify adhesion to any stereotyped formula, 
 but rather the contrary, since to compose is necessarily to create. What 
 it does mean is such arrangement of the lines, masses, spaces, and other 
 elements with which the artist has to deal, as will achieve a perfect 
 balance of all the parts and produce a complete, harmonic, and restful 
 whole. In his choice of subjects and in their treatment Harunobu 
 was more often serious than was usual in Ukiyo-e. In fact, his ten¬ 
 dency was toward the refinement of the classic schools, and his draw¬ 
 ings have a grace, sweetness, and tenderness that are all their own. 
 His line, too, though without any of the bravura quality so highly 
 esteemed by his countrymen, is nevertheless extremely pure, firm and 
 of great charm. And who can resist the fascination of the women 
 that he drew with such exquisite taste and skill? 
 
 Harunobu’s studio was situated at the corner of Yonezawa cho, 
 Ryogoku; and there is some reason to suppose that during the last 
 five years of his life he was his own publisher. During the year 1765 
 many of his prints were issued unsigned. Quite a number of the 
 calendars for 1765 which were presumably first issued toward the 
 end of 1764, had the signatures removed when second editions were 
 printed without the calendar feature. Who could mistake a print by 
 him for the work of another hand? The futility of this ambitious 
 boast soon, however, became apparent. As his style became assimi¬ 
 lated by other artists, many unsigned prints appeared that were very 
 close imitations of his manner. Thereafter Harunobu’s prints usually 
 had his signature appended; but this did not prevent the publication 
 of prints bearing forged signatures of the favorite artist. To what 
 extent these were put forth during his lifetime it is not easy to say. 
 The number of prints generally attributed to him is so large that it 
 is quite safe to say that he could not have designed them all, though 
 the method of production made it possible for an artist to accomplish 
 very much more in a given time than we can quite realize. Be that 
 as it may, we know from the statement of his pupil known as Haru- 
 shige and later as Shiba Kokan, in a “confession” made toward the 
 end of his life, that shortly after Harunobu’s death he put forth a 
 number of prints to which he forged the master’s signature and which 
 were accepted by the public as genuine. That these were the only 
 forgeries issued is most unlikely. Besides these imitations many 
 re-engravings (now commonly called reprints) have been made in 
 recent years. Thus it will be perceived that the path of the collector 
 of Harunobu’s prints is beset with many stumbling blocks. 
 
 —63— 
 
SUZUKIHABUNOBU 
 
 209. ICHIMURA KOMAZO IN THE ROLE OF THE 
 WATABOSHI URI (COTTON-HAT PEDDLER) 
 TACHIBANA GENSO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni-ye. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Suzuki. About 1758. 
 
 210. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN THE ROLE OF YAMABUKI, 
 SISTER OF HATA ROKUROZAEMON. 
 
 Hosoe. Printed in beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Suzuki Haru¬ 
 nobu, hitsu. Publisher: Enami-ya. About 1760. 
 
 211. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN THE ROLE OF UMEGAI. 
 
 Hosoe. Printed in beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Suzuki Haru¬ 
 nobu ga. Publisher: Sakai-ya. About 1760. 
 
 212. AN OIRAN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Printed in beni, yellow, and blue; purple and green by 
 superposition. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. Publisher: Nishimi- 
 ya. About 1760. 
 
 213. BANDO HIKOSABURO IN A SHOSA ROLE AS A 
 WOMAN ITINERANT FLOWER VENDOR. 
 
 Oban. Printed in beni, yellow, and blue. Signed: Suzuki Haru¬ 
 nobu, hitsu. Publisher: Sakai-ya Kurobei. About 1762. 
 
 This is one of the largest and most important of Harunobu’s early 
 prints. In recent years a clever imitation of it has been issued which 
 is well calculated to deceive the unwary. 
 
 214. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO AS A WOMAN ATTIRED AS 
 A KOMUSO. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Printed in beni, yellow, and blue; purple and green 
 by superposition. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu, hitsu. Publisher: 
 Tomioka. About 1760. 
 
 Here the style closely resembles that of Torii Kiyomitsu. These 
 artists were rivals for popular favor at this time, but Harunobu soon 
 forged ahead. 
 
 215. THE BARRIER AT HAKONE: TRAVELLERS HAV¬ 
 ING THEIR PASSPORTS EXAMINED AT THE 
 GATE. 
 
 Hosoe. Printed in yellow-green, pale tan, and pale blue. Not 
 signed. About 1763. 
 
SUZUKIHABUNOBU 
 
 216. THE UCHIWA VENDOR. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. Probably 1764. 
 
 This is a calendar for 1765, one of the new Haru-no Daisho no 
 Surimono. The large and small months of the year are designated 
 by the decorations that appear on the uchiwa (round fans) the young 
 woman carries. These indicate festivals appropriate to the several 
 months, except the eighth and tenth for which the mon of popular 
 actors are made to serve. 
 
 217. THE ARCHERY GALLERY. 
 
 Yokoye chuban diptych. Not signed. Probably 1764. 
 
 Calendar for 1765* The year is inscribed upon the arrow holder; 
 the large month numerals upon the obi (sash) of one of the yatori 
 onna, but, lest they should appear too obvious to please the artist’s 
 literary patrons, the ideographs are curiously decomposed and their 
 members or strokes twisted into forms not readily recognizable. 
 
 The phrase “yatori onna” signifies arrow-collecting woman, but 
 it was also customary for the girls to do the shooting for some of 
 the patrons of the galleries. 
 
 2x8. BOY VENDOR OF TOKOROTEN, A KIND OF JELLY 
 MADE FROM SEA WEED. 
 
 Chuban. Printed in six colors. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. 
 Takahashi Rosen hori (engraver). Toko ko (printer). Probably 
 1764. 
 
 219. TWO GIRLS IN A BOAT GATHERING LOTUS 
 FLOWERS. 
 
 Yokoye chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga, and by the printer, 
 Kyosen ko. 1764. 
 
 Calendar for 1765. The numerals for the large months appear 
 on the obi of the kneeling figure. 
 
 220. TWO GIRLS IN A BOAT, GATHERING LOTUS 
 FLOWERS. 
 
 Second edition of the preceding number: coloring changed; pat¬ 
 tern on the obi printed from different blocks without the calendar; 
 signatures of the artist and the printer omitted. This print is included 
 in the exhibition to show the difference between the editions. The 
 earlier print is much faded but was never like the other in color. 
 
 —65 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 221. THE LADY IZUTSU STANDING IN THE DOOR¬ 
 WAY OF HER HOUSE AND RECITING A POEM 
 ABOUT HER ABSENT HUSBAND. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. 1764 or 1765. 
 
 Another beautiful specimen of the calendars for the eventful 
 year 1765. In refinement and grace of drawing Harunobu easily 
 surpasses all his rivals. The year “meiwa ni” and the zodiac sign 
 (cock) are plainly inscribed upon the obi, while upon the kimono 
 appear the numerals for the small months. 
 
 This print is the right-hand sheet of a diptych; the other sheet 
 shows the lady’s husband hiding behind the fence and listening to his 
 wife’s tribute to him. 
 
 222. VIEW THROUGH A ROUND WINDOW, OF A 
 YOUNG WOMAN FULLING CLOTH BY BEATING. 
 
 Chuban. Printed in four colors, with gauffrage. Not signed. Prob¬ 
 ably 1764 or 1765. 
 
 223. A MUSUME MOSO. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. 1764 or 1765. 
 
 This is an impression of the second edition of a print which in its 
 first state is a calendar for 1765, the numerals of the large months 
 appearing as white leaves of the bamboo. Some of them still remain 
 in this print. 
 
 Moso is the Japanese pronunciation of Meng Tsung, a Chinese 
 of the third century, renowned as one of the twenty-four paragons 
 of filial piety. He would never taste anything just as it came into 
 season before offering some of it to his aged mother. Having fallen 
 ill during the winter she expressed a desire for a soup made from 
 young bamboo shoots. As it was too early in the year Moso betook 
 himself weeping to a neighboring bamboo grove, when lo! his filial 
 affection moving heaven and earth the frozen soil suddenly burst at 
 his feet and an abundance of succulent shoots appeared. Harunobu’s 
 charming version of this legend shows a young woman about to dig 
 a large bamboo shoot miraculously cropping up through the snow. 
 
 224. GIRL SEATED ON A BENCH BY A STREAM. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. 1764 or 1765. 
 
 This print and No. 225 are two of a set of three. The third print 
 is a calendar for 1765. 
 
 —66— 
 
SUZUKIHARUNOBU 
 
 225. GIRL TYING HER OBI. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. 1764 or 1765. 
 
 226. AMAGOI KOMACHI (PRAYING FOR RAIN KOMA- 
 CHI). 
 
 Hosoe. Series: Furyu Yatsushi Nana Komachi. Not signed. 
 Probably 1765. 
 
 Two girls on the bank of a stream in a shower, sailing a toy boat. 
 The subjects of the prints in this series are modern analogues of well- 
 known incidents in the life of the celebrated poetess Ono no Komachi. 
 
 227. KAYO I (VISITING). 
 
 Hosoe. Series: Furyu Yatsushi Nana Komachi. Not signed. 
 Probably 1765. 
 
 228. THE SHISHI SCREEN. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. Probably 1765. 
 
 Second state. In the first state this print bears the signature of 
 the printer Kyosen. In the third state the signature of Harunobu 
 appears in white reserve on the tatami (floor mat) at the right. 
 
 The subject is a kameyui (professional hair-dresser) arranging 
 a geisha’s coiffure. The title comes from the shishi (Chinese lion) 
 painted on the screen. 
 
 Impressions of this print (first state) and of the next two num¬ 
 bers were included in a group of eight printed by Kyosen and issued 
 by him in a wrapper (collection of Alexander G. Mosle, Leipzig) 
 under the title “Zashiki Hakkei” (Eight Parlor Views). Whether 
 this was a commercial venture, or as seems more probable, the prints 
 were so enclosed for presentation to his friends, is an interesting sub¬ 
 ject for speculation. The rarity of impressions bearing the printer’s 
 signature would seem to indicate that in general only a few that he 
 desired for personal distribution were so inscribed. 
 
 229. MASSAGE AFTER THE BATH. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed Probably 1765. 
 
 A young woman wrapped in a bath robe is seated on a veranda 
 and her maid is massaging her back. 
 
 Second edition. In the first edition the bath robe is printed in 
 
 pale yellow. 
 
 *—C7— 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 230. WOMAN READING A LETTER BY THE LIGHT OF 
 AN ANDON (PORTABLE LAMP) THAT ANOTHER 
 WOMAN HOLDS. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1765. 
 
 Different impressions of this print vary greatly in color. 
 
 231. A WHITE ELEPHANT CAPARISONED FOR A FES¬ 
 TIVAL PROCESSION. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. Probably 1765. 
 
 232. TWO YOUNG WOMEN ON THEIR WAY TO A 
 PUBLIC BATH HOUSE IN A STORM OF MINGLED 
 SNOW AND RAIN. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. Probably 1765. 
 
 233. USHI NO TOKI MAIRI (THE HOUR OF THE OX). 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga, and by Sekine Kaei choko 
 (engraver). Probably 1765. 
 
 A young woman carrying a hammer and two nails stands before 
 a cryptomeria tree growing near a torii, and is about to perform an 
 incantation by driving the nails into the tree and uttering a curse upon 
 a faithless lover or hated rival, that the oni, or demons of the air, 
 may be let loose against the object of her wrath. 
 
 234- THE COMING BREEZE. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. Probably 1765. 
 
 A young woman sits in a pensive attitude on the engawa (veranda) 
 of Kiyomizu temple, Kyoto. Upon the print some previous owner 
 has inscribed the famous ode by Toshiyori, “The Coming Breeze,” 
 which is “a household word” in Japan. 
 
 235. COURT LADY BURNING MAPLE LEAVES. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. Probably 1765. 
 
 A lady attired as an attendant in the Imperial household sits in 
 the corner of a garden burning maple leaves in a basket suspended 
 from a small crane, and another court lady standing on the other side 
 of the fence hands her a poem slip. 
 
 236. OFFERING DARUMA A SMOKE. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga, and Takahashi Rosen 
 choko (engraver). Probably 1765. 
 
 —68— 
 
SUZUKIHARUNOBU 
 
 The charm of the young lady having brought to life the painted 
 figure of the sage in the kakimono hanging on the wall, she offers 
 him her pipe and he stretches out his arm to take it. 
 
 237- GIRLS PLAYING CAT’S-CRADLE. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. Probably 1765. 
 
 238. GIRLS PLAYING SUGOROKU. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu. Probably 1765. 
 
 239. THE FAMOUS POETESS ONO NO KOMACHI. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. 
 
 The poetess is attired in the costume of a court lady of the ninth 
 century. 
 
 240. PENETRATING THE DISGUISE. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1765. 
 
 A girl holds a mirror so that the face of a woman masquerading 
 as a komuso is reflected and her identity discovered. 
 
 241. YOUNG WOMAN AND HER LOVER READING A 
 LETTER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. 
 
 Seated on a kotatsu (box containing a charcoal fire, and covered 
 with a wadded quilt (futon) to retain the heat) a young woman is 
 reading a letter which her lover lying under the futon is also enjoying. 
 Through the window snow-laden bamboo branches appear. The sub¬ 
 ject is perhaps an allusion to the well-known incident from the story 
 of the forty-seven loyal ronin when Yuranosuke read a letter while 
 standing on the veranda of a house and the spy Kudayu hidden 
 beneath was also able to master its contents. 
 
 242. YOUNG WOMAN WALKING IN THE SNOW. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga, and by the printer Seiha ko. 1765 
 or 1766. 
 
 Here we have a calendar for the third year of Meiwa, 1766. The 
 year and numbers for the large months appear upon the obi. It is 
 a proof impression in remarkable condition. 
 
 243. A MODERN ANALOGUE OF KOMACHI WASHING 
 THE COPY BOOK. 
 
 Chuban. Signed only by the printer: Goro ko. 1765 or 1766. 
 
 —69— 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 This is another calendar for 1766. A boy having got some ink 
 splashes upon a letter belonging to his sister, he is about to apply a 
 dipper of water, with probably disastrous results and his sister rushes 
 forward to stop him. The ink splashes form the word sho (small) 
 and the numbers of the small months are upon the letter, while the 
 name of the year is upon the boy’s obi (sash) and the numbers of 
 the large months are upon the girl’s kimono. 
 
 The subject is a travesty upon the well-known incident in the life 
 of the famous ninth century poetess Ono no Komachi. On the oc¬ 
 casion of a poetical competition at the Imperial palace the poet Otomo 
 no Kuronushi accused her of having taken the poem from an ancient 
 collection of odes known as the Manyoshu. In support of his allega¬ 
 tion he brought forth an ancient manuscript copy of the book with her 
 poem in it. Komachi called for water, and, washing the book the 
 old writing was not affected but the fresh ink yielded and her rival 
 was discomfitted. 
 
 244. FAN MOUNT PEDDLER DISPLAYING HIS WARES 
 TO A YOUNG WOMAN. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. About 1766. 
 
 245. GIRLS STRUGGLING FOR THE POSSESSION OF 
 A FAN. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. About 1766. 
 
 246. THE ELOPEMENT. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. Probably 1766. 
 
 A young samurai running along the bank of a stream, under a 
 willow tree, carrying a geisha on his back. 
 
 247. MUSUME CARRYING AN UMBRELLA ON A 
 WINDY DAY. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. Probably 1766. 
 
 248. IDE NO TAMAGAWA. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Mu Tamagawa. Not signed. Probably 1766. 
 
 The Tama rivers of the six different provinces furnish a theme 
 much used by the Ukiyo-e artists. Here three girls are shown fording 
 the Ide no Tamagawa; the yamabuki is in bloom on the bank behind 
 them. 
 
 —70— 
 
SUZUKIHARUNOBU 
 
 249. CHOFU NO TAMAGAWA. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Mu Tamagawa. Not signed. Probably 1766. 
 Young woman rinsing strips of white cloth in the river. Another 
 print of the same series. Harunobu designed several Tamagawa 
 series, of which this is the most famous. 
 
 250. WAKASHU (YOUNG MAN IN WOMAN’S 
 CLOTHES) STANDING BY A GARDEN FENCE AND 
 PLAYING A FLUTE. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 251. WOMAN WASHING HER HANDS AS A PURIFICA¬ 
 TION CEREMONY AT A SHINTO TEMPLE, AND 
 A BOY LOOKING ON. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. About 1766. 
 
 252. YOUNG MAN PASSING THROUGH A GATE. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 253. THE LOVERS’ DUET. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. 
 
 Second edition. In the first edition, issued about 1766, the pat¬ 
 terns upon the clothes of the young people are quite different. 
 
 254. GIRLS FISHING FOR MEDAKA (KILLIFISH). 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. About 1766. 
 
 255. WOMAN ON A VERANDA WITH TWO GIRL AT¬ 
 TENDANTS AND A PET DOG. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. About 1766. 
 
 In “The Masters of Ukioye,” the catalogue of the Ketcham 
 Exhibition of Ukiyo-e paintings and prints held in New York in 
 January, 1896, Mr. Fenollosa says of this print, which was there 
 exhibited: “In this wonderful print Harunobu about reaches the ex¬ 
 treme possibilities of his experimental stage. There are fourteen or fif¬ 
 teen distinct tones lavished in a perfect shower of wealth on every part 
 of the design. The background itself is a mosaic of light. But the most 
 extraordinary thing is that they hold their place without undue con¬ 
 fusion. This implies supreme mastery over two of the intrinsic 
 dimensions of color, which are not always considered; namely, the 
 
 —71— 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 darkness and lightness of colors {notan) and the brilliancy and gray¬ 
 ness of colours ( seiutsu ). He has now discovered how to use the very 
 opaqueness of tones over paper so as to give them transparency of 
 effect. What could be more liquid or enamel-like than the cool blue 
 of the hanging curtain? How finely the yellow of the pillar cuts it! 
 Observe the texture, as painting; the pigment, like spring frost, touch¬ 
 ing the hilltops of the surface, but sparing the valleys. Thus is 
 color physically diluted, as it cannot be in water-color wash, by 
 letting the white light, held in solution by the paper’s fibres, diffuse 
 itself outward through the thin veil of the pigment. Need we wonder 
 that the name nishiki-ye or embroidery painting was now bestowed 
 upon this new art?” 
 
 256. THE SHADOW OF THE PINE TREE ON THE 
 SHOJI. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 A young girl, daughter of the house, has turned from her morn¬ 
 ing dusting to greet her brother who holds a tame mouse in his hand. 
 Above is an ode by Kikaku which Mrs. Fenollosa has translated: 
 
 I’ve dusted as our mother bade:— 
 
 And yet have left one stain. 
 
 How could I brush the pine-tree shade 
 From off the window-pane? 
 
 257- THE SLEEPING CHABOZU. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. 
 
 A woman looking down at a chabozu (boy attendant—literally, 
 tea priest) who has fallen asleep, his arms folded across a cha-usu or 
 mill for grinding powdered tea for the cha-no-yu ceremony. On the 
 floor is a chaboki or feather for brushing away the tea dust. 
 
 258. RETURNING THE FOOTBALL. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 A girl standing upon a ladder placed against a garden wall, re¬ 
 turns a football to a young man who holds out his hand to receive it. 
 
 259. GIRL AND YOUNG MAN CATCHING FIREFLIES 
 ON THE BANK OF A RIVER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 —72- 
 
SUZUKI JHARUNOBU 
 
 260. NARIHIRA AND HIS LADY. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 261. WOMAN WASHING STRIPS OF CLOTH IN A 
 RIVER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 Although no title appears upon the print it is probably the Chofu 
 no Tamagawa from a Six Tama Rivers series. 
 
 262. NATURE’S MIRROR. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 Daruma being given a ride in a boat poled by a young woman, 
 uses the water as a mirror while plucking stray hairs from his cheek 
 with a pair of pincers. 
 
 263. THE SICK ROOSTER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 Warm sake is being offered to the ailing bird by one maiden 
 while the other holds it. 
 
 264. THE NEXT VOLUME. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 A girl reading a book lying upon the floor turns to her companion 
 who is taking down the next volume from a case at the side. The 
 fusuma, or sliding partition, at the back is decorated with a winter 
 landscape and a Chinese sage riding upon an ass. 
 
 265. BURNING MAPLE LEAVES TO HEAT SAKE 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. 
 
 An oiran and her kamuro warming sake over a fire of maple leaves 
 for a wakashu (youth in woman’s clothes) who sits beside the hibachi. 
 
 266. A WINTER EVENING VIGIL. 
 
 Chuban yokoye. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1766. 
 
 A geisha seated on a veranda at night, her samisen by her side, 
 and behind her a kettle upon a hibachi. 
 
 267. THE SLEEPY KAMURO. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1767. 
 
 —73— 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 An oiran seated in her bedroom writes a letter by the light of 
 an andon, while her little kamuro sitting behind her has fallen fast 
 asleep. 
 
 268. YOUNG WOMAN UMPIRING A WRESTLING 
 MATCH BETWEEN TWO BOYS. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1767. 
 
 269. THE COCK FIGHT. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 270. A SNOWY DAY BY THE SEA. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 A girl stoops to remove the snow from the geta of another girl 
 who is carrying a yellow umbrella. Back of them a glimpse of the 
 sea and the stern of a boat. 
 
 271. TWO MAIDS GATHERING SPRING FLOWERS. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 272. YOUNG WOMAN CROSSING A BRIDGE IN A GALE 
 OF WIND. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 273. YOUNG WOMAN AND HER LOVER STRUGGLING 
 FOR THE POSSESSION OF A LETTER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 Notable for the beauty of the gauffrage and the harmonious blend¬ 
 ing of the gray and olive hues. 
 
 274 - AN oiran lifting a portierre to greet 
 HER KAMURO WHO IS BRINGING HER A LET¬ 
 TER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 275. WILL HE COME? 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 A young woman standing in a room and looking out at the land¬ 
 scape. Illustration of the ode printed above: 
 
 — 74 — 
 
SUZUKIHARUNOBU 
 
 Let me turn my weary thoughts toward 
 Mount Miwa. 
 
 It may be my heart’s choice is coming 
 this way. 
 
 276. TAKING LEAVE OF HER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 Here Harunobu tries the experiment of omitting the black outline 
 for the woman’s kimono, using only embossed lines instead. The 
 sharp contrast between the white and the intensely black garments is 
 also an experiment. He w r as not altogether successful in this attempt 
 but later he used he difficult contrast with exceedingly happy results. 
 
 277. THE COTTON GIN. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1768. 
 
 A woman extracting the seeds from cotton with a primitive gin; 
 and another woman bearing away a basket of the cotton. 
 
 278. GIVING A LIGHT. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 A young woman meets a young man and stops to get a light from 
 his pipe. A boy carrying a pair of geta (clogs) stands by. In the 
 background a snow-covered landscape with plum trees in bloom. 
 
 279. THE HOBBY HORSE. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 280. THE DAIMYO PROCESSION GAME. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 281. THE OIRAN CHOZAN OF CHOJI-YA INSTRUCT¬ 
 ING HER KAMURO WHERE TO DELIVER A LET¬ 
 TER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 282. OFUJI WAITING UPON A YOUNG SAMURAI AT 
 HER FATHER’S SHOP, MOTO YANAGI-YA. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 This is one of a series of prints that greatly increased Harunobu’s 
 reputation among the populace of Edo. In the sixth year of Meiwa 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 (1769) four young girls renowned throughout the city for their 
 beauty, were selected to perform a ceremonial dance at the installa¬ 
 tion of a statue of Ishizu Shoshi at the temple of Yushima Tenjin. 
 These girls were Onami and Ohatsu, two of the temple attendants, 
 Osen, a servant in the Kagiya teahouse at Kasamori temple, Yanaka, 
 and Ofuji, daughter of Neheiji, who had a tooth brush and cosmetic 
 shop at Asakusa. 
 
 283. TWO WOMEN ON A BEACH BY THE SEA. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 One woman is seated in a kago resting on the beach and the other 
 is walking toward her. 
 
 A deceptive counterfeit of this print has been made in recent years. 
 
 284. FISHERMAN AND AN AWABI DIVER ON THE 
 ROCKS BY THE SEA AT ISE. 
 
 Chuban. Same series as the foregoing. Signed: Harunobu ga. 
 About 1769. 
 
 285. THE SNOW DOG. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 286. AN OIRAN AND HER KAMURO IN A TEA HOUSE 
 BY THE SUMIDA RIVER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 The oiran is seated on the window sill and the Kamuro is looking 
 through a spy-glass at the people in a boat on the river. 
 
 287. GOING TO THE THEATRE. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 A tall woman and a girl are proceeding through the fog toward 
 the theatre of which a glimpse is given in the upper corner. In old 
 Japan the performances at the theatres began very early in the morn¬ 
 ing and lasted through the day. The longest play was that given 
 in the forenoon. 
 
 288. KINDNESS, EVEN TO A BIRD. 
 
 Chuban. Signed. Suzuki Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 A Wakashu (youth in women’s clothes) and two girls at the 
 Kagiya tea-house at Kasamori temple, liberating caged birds. 
 
 —7C— 
 
SUZUKIHARUNOBU 
 
 289. GEISHA, WITH A CLOSED UMBRELLA, WALKING 
 IN THE SNOW. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Not signed. 1768 or 1769. 
 
 290. IDE NO TAMAGAWA. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Series: Fuzoku mu Tamagawa. Signed: Harunobu 
 ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 Two girls fording the Ide Tama river. 
 
 291. CHIDORI NO TAMAGAWA. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Series: Fuzoku mu Tamagawa. Signed: Suzuki 
 Harunobu, hitsu. Probably 1769. 
 
 A tall woman wearing a black zukin about her head. 
 
 292. TALL WOMAN IN WINTER COSTUME. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 293. SHIRAI GOMPACHI. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 Shirai Gompachi was the ronin lover of the beautiful Komurasaki. 
 The story of their attachment is familiar to every Japanese and is 
 excellently told for English readers in Mitford’s “Tales of Old 
 Japan.” In one hand the young man carries a basket hat (amigasa), 
 which when worn rested upon his shoulders and effectively concealed 
 his features. This and the flute carried in his other hand are dis¬ 
 tinguishing features of the costume of the komuso, a name given to 
 men of the Samurai class who, having committed some political 
 offense or other crime, were permitted to take refuge in certain asylums 
 known as Komuso-dera. Here they were under a rule as strict and 
 autocratic as in any prison, but they had a certain amount of liberty 
 provided they did not abuse the privilege. A second offense while 
 living in the sanctuary was punishable with death. The komuso were 
 obliged to wear a prescribed costume by which, when they went 
 abroad, their identity was entirely hidden, and, as they were forced 
 to live by begging, a flute instead of the voice was used to attract 
 attention to their need. Gompachi adopted this costume as a disguise 
 when visiting his lady love. 
 
 294- KOMURASAKI IN KOMUSO ATTIRE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 Companion piece to the foregoing. 
 
 —77— 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 295. tall woman putting on a basket hat. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 296. VERY TALL WOMAN PLAYING THE SAMISEN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 297- WOMAN IN WHITE UNDER A SNOW-LADEN WIL¬ 
 LOW TREE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Not signed, but has been trimmed a good deal and 
 the signature may have been cut off. Probably 1769. 
 
 298. WOMAN IN A PINK KIMONO CARRYING AN 
 ORANGE UMBRELLA IN A SNOW STORM. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 299- AN OIRAN ON PARADE IN A SNOW STORM. 
 Hashira-ye. Not signed. Probably 1769. 
 
 The yellow umbrella is held above her head by a servant who 
 does not appear in the picture. Notable for the color harmony of 
 orange, yellow and grays. 
 
 300. VERY TALL WOMAN SEATED BENEATH A TORII 
 AND ANOTHER WOMAN POINTING OUT SOME¬ 
 THING TO HER IN A KUSAZOSHI (“YELLOW 
 BOOK,” OR NOVELETTE). 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 301. OSEN OF THE KAGI-YA TEA-HOUSE AT KASA- 
 MORI DIPPING HOT WATER FROM A KETTLE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Harunobu ga. 1769 or 1770. 
 
 One of the most distinguished of the prints that Harunobu made 
 of the famous beauty. 
 
 302. AN OIRAN HOLDING A LETTER AND TALKING 
 TO HER PET DOG. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1769. 
 
 303. THE LADY JOSAN NO MIYA AND HER PE' 
 KITTEN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1769. 
 
 —78— 
 
HARUNOBTT 
 
 Musume carrying an umbrella on a windy day 
 
 
 
 Xo. 247. 
 


 
 HARUNOBU 
 
 No. 306. Woman with pet monkey 
 
 No. 310. The lovers Komurasaki 
 and Gompachi 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 304. YOUNG MAN DISGUISED AS A KOMUSo SECRET¬ 
 LY VISITING TWO GIRLS WHOSE HEADS APPEAR 
 AT A BARRED WINDOW. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Fuzoku Shiki Kasen (Customs of the Four 
 Seasons). Signed: Suzuki Harunobu zu. 1769 or 1770. 
 
 This is one of a series of thirteen prints for the thirteen lunar 
 months of the year 1770. It is inscribed “Gatsu,” the fourth, or 
 “flower month.” In printing it twelve blocks have been used. 
 
 305. YOUNG MAN DISGUISED AS A KOMUSO SECRET¬ 
 LY VISITING TWO GIRLS WHOSE HEADS APPEAR 
 AT A BARRED WINDOW. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. 
 
 Whether this is a second design by Harunobu or a reissue by 
 another hand is not easy to determine. It appears to be of later date, 
 but that is not at all certain. Only eight blocks have been used instead 
 of the twelve required for the other print. 
 
 306. WOMAN WITH A PET MONKEY. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. About 1770. 
 
 In the color schemes of the first editions of Harunobu’s more 
 important works yellow was often a dominant note. Here two yel¬ 
 lows were used in combination with purple and blue. The fading of 
 the latter into neutral hues which cannot be described in words, 
 adds much to the beauty of the print which is one of Harunobu’s mas¬ 
 terpieces and is as charming in line as in color. 
 
 307. LOVERS WALKING UNDER AN UMBRELLA IN 
 THE SNOW. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Harunobu ga. Probably 1770. 
 
 308. WOMAN IN A GAUZE KIMONO STANDING BY A 
 POT OF PINKS. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. Publisher: Eiiudo. 
 Probably 1770. 
 
 It is very unusual for one of Harunobu’s prints except those de¬ 
 signed in his early years, to bear a publisher’s mark. It seems probable 
 that he was his own publisher, and if so the publisher’s marks that 
 appear on a few prints clearly in the style of his last year may indicate 
 that the prints though designed by him were not published until after 
 
 —79— 
 
SUZUKI HARUNOBU 
 
 his death. It is known that he left some unpublished drawings, for one 
 of which Koryusai furnished the color scheme, with an apology to his 
 friend for so doing. 
 
 309. YOUNG WOMAN HANGING A MOSQUITO NET 
 CANOPY OVER A BED. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Suzuki Harunobu ga. Publisher. Eijudo. 
 Probably 1770. 
 
 310. THE LOVERS KOMURASAKI AND GOMPACHI. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Not signed. Probably 1770. 
 
 This print is in Harunobu’s last and noblest manner. The com¬ 
 position of line is masterful, the treatment of the black masses strong 
 and splendid. Its dignity and grace steadily grow upon the beholder 
 who has eyes to see. Nothing, it would seem at first sight, could be 
 easier to do; few things, it will be perceived after long and close 
 study, could well be more difficult. 
 
 311. AMAGOI (PRAYING FOR RAIN) KOMACHI. 
 
 Oban. Signed : Suzuki Harunobu ga. 
 
 This is one of the large prints which Harunobu began to design 
 during the last year of his life. Only a small number were issued 
 before death brought his labors to a close. 
 
 SHIBA KOKAN 
 
 In Japan the artist who at one time called himself Harushige, 
 and later adopted the go (brush name) Shiba Kokan, is best known 
 as a painter of pictures and an engraver of copper plates in European 
 or semi-European style. In the West his chief claim to distinction is 
 his confession that after the death of Harunobu he forged the name 
 of that master to a number of prints which resembled his work so 
 closely that no one suspected the deception. “Indeed,” he said, 
 “people took me for Harunobu, so I felt uneasy in my conscience about 
 the misunderstanding and adopted the name of Harushige for my 
 prints.” 
 
 The personal name of Kokan was Ando Kichijiro. He was born 
 in 1747 and died in 1818. How early he entered the studio of 
 Harunobu we do not know; but he was an apt pupil and it may 
 
 —so— 
 
SHIBA KOKAN 
 
 be that some of the unsigned prints in Harunobu’s style that appear 
 to be of later date than 1765 or 1766 were designed by him. The 
 language used in his confession seems to indicate that the name 
 Harushige was not adopted until after Harunobu’s death. If so 
 then we may infer that Harunobu did not confer upon his pupil the 
 right to use the syllable Haru as a part of his brush name; and this 
 implies either that Kokan had not at the age of twenty-three acquired 
 such proficiency as to win the master’s approval, or, as is more 
 probable, that they had a falling out prior to Harunobu’s last illness. 
 
 How closely the prints signed Harushige resemble those by 
 Harunobu the few here exhibited will afford some indication. The 
 identification of the prints bearing forged signatures is not easy. Both 
 artists have their mannerisms, but these are more in evidence in some 
 drawings than in others, and allowance has always to be made for 
 slight modification of the drawing, especially that of the faces, in the 
 process of engraving. 
 
 312. AMAGOI KOMACHI. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harushige ga. 
 
 The comparison between the work of Harunobu and of Harushige 
 in treating the same subject is interesting and instructive. 
 
 313. A LATE COMER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harushige ga. 
 
 Harunobu’s style is closely assimilated but there are slight differ¬ 
 ences. Note the peculiar tapering necks and the expression of the 
 faces. 
 
 314. HAGI NO TAMAGAWA. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Harunobu ga. 
 
 Two women seated on a shogi (wooden bench) looking at the 
 hagi (bush clover) growing by their side. 
 
 Without much doubt this is one of the prints to which Kokan 
 forged Harunobu’s signature. The tapering necks are much in 
 evidence. 
 
 ARTIST UNKNOWN 
 
 It is possible that these prints may be by Harunobu, but with 
 more probability their authorship may be ascribed to Tachibana 
 Minko, who is known to have designed some calendar prints for 
 the year 1765. 
 
 —81— 
 
ARTIST UNKNOWN 
 
 315. CHINESE SAGE STANDING BEFORE A KORO IN 
 WHICH INCENSE IS BURNING. 
 
 Chuban. Printed in seven colors. Not signed. 1764 or 1765. 
 Calendar for 1765. The koro is inscribed “Meiwa ni” (second 
 year of Meiwa period) ; and, concealed in the shippo, or precious 
 things of Buddhism that ornament the sage’s coat, are the numerals 
 for the large months of the year. 
 
 316. THE MYTHICAL CHINESE PRINCESS SI WANG 
 MU. 
 
 Chuban. Printed in seven colors. Not signed. 1764 or 1765. 
 
 KOMATSUKEN 
 
 Komatsuken (which may, but should not be pronounced 
 Shoshoken) was the brush name of an artist named Sanuemon, who 
 was also the proprietor of a drug shop called Komatsu-ya in Iida 
 Machi. Besides the go Komatsu and Komatsuken, he sometimes 
 signed Hyakuki, which indicates his probable identity with the artist 
 Tomikawa Fusanobu, who also used that brush name. He was a 
 prolific painter of the subjects called shunga by the Japanese. So far 
 as known all his prints were calendars for 1765. Some of these 
 were quite simple; others required all of the resources of the 
 engraver’s and printer’s art for their production. All are charming in 
 design and in color, and are exquisitely engraved and printed. 
 
 317. A NOBLE LADY CROSSING A ROOM SUPPORTED 
 BY TWO WOMEN ATTENDANTS. 
 
 Chuban. Full-color, with gold, silver, and gauffrage. Signed: 
 
 Komatsuken ga, and by the printer: Raishi ko. 
 
 ISODA KORYUSAI 
 
 Isoda Shobei Masakatsu, known as Koryusai (Lake dragon stu¬ 
 dio), was a samurai, and until he became a ronin was a retainer of the 
 noble family of Tsuchiya of Ogawamachi, Edo. Breaking away 
 from the restraints that were imposed upon men of his class, he 
 entered the studio of Nishimura Shigenaga, but soon left it to be- 
 
 —82— 
 
ISODA KOltYUSAI 
 
 come a pupil of Harunobu, and was given the name of Haruhiro. 
 This name he used for a short time only when he changed to Ko- 
 ryusai, which was also a gift from Harunobu, who, it is said, had used 
 it himself for literary purposes. His early work is so much like that 
 of Harunobu that if not signed it might well be taken for it. He 
 had a studio at Yonezawa-cho, Yagenbori, Ryogoku, close to that of 
 Harunobu, and after Harunobu’s death he was for more than a 
 decade, until distanced by Kiyonaga, one of the foremost artists of 
 the school, equalled only by Shunsho and Buncho, whose work lay 
 in a different field, and by Shigemasa, who produced comparatively 
 little. Koryusai was particularly skillful as a designer of pillar prints 
 (hashira-ye). He was also a colorist of the first rank. About 
 1781, probably at the solicitation of the Director of the Mint, who 
 was one of his closest friends, he gave up print designing, devoted 
 his attention to painting, and was given the honorary title of Hokyo. 
 The date of his death is not known. 
 
 318. TWO WOMEN ASSISTED BY A YOUNG GIRL CUT¬ 
 TING OUT AND SEWING GARMENTS. 
 
 Koban. Series: Furyu Shogei Zukushi. (Elegant miscellaneous 
 collection). Signed: Koryu ga. About 1768. 
 
 319- THE GEMBUKU OR COMING-OF-AGE ceremony 
 OF A YOUNG SAMURAI. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Koryu ga. About 1769. 
 
 320. AN OIRAN ACCOMPANIED BY HER LOVER AND 
 A SERVANT CARRYING AN ODAWARA LANTERN 
 ON THE EVENING OF THE BON MATSURI. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Furyu Ju-ni Setsu. (Elegant twelve seasons). 
 Signed: Koryu ga. About 1769. 
 
 321. YOUNG COUPLE VIEWING THE LESPEDEZA IN 
 BLOOM AT HAGIDERA. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Edo Meisho Si Ichi Gatsu. (Edo views of every 
 month). This for the eighth month. Signed: Koryu ga. About 
 
 322. THE OIRAN KARAUTA (CHINESE POEM) AND 
 KUREYUKI (EVENING SNOW) WALKING IN THE 
 SNOW, A MAN SERVANT ATTENDING THEM. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Seiro Meifu Hakkei. (Eight views in the Envi¬ 
 rons of Edo). Signed: Koryu ga. About 1770. 
 
 —S3— 
 
ISODA KORYUSAI 
 
 323. GEESE FLYING DOWN AT THE YOSHIWARA. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Edo Meifu Hakkei. (Eight views in the Envi¬ 
 rons of Edo). Signed: Koryu ga. About 1770. 
 
 A woman holding a letter for which another woman seated at 
 her feet reaches out. Through the window geese are seen flying 
 down. 
 
 324. IDENTIFYING THE KOMUSO. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1770. 
 
 325. THE ARCHERY GALLERY. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Koryu ga. About 1770. 
 
 326. SHOOTING THE TIGER. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1770. 
 
 A tiger painted on a tsuitate (a kind of screen) furnishes a target 
 for the small boy with his bow and arrows. 
 
 327. TWO GEISHAS IN A PARLOR PRACTISING 
 GIDAYU. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Furyu Ju-ni Shi. (Elegant Twelve Zodiac 
 Signs). Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1770. 
 
 Gidayu is a kind of recitation or chant with musical accompani¬ 
 ment. The zodiac sign here represented is the snake, which is the 
 peculiar emblem of the geisha. 
 
 328. A PRACTICAL JOKE. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1770. 
 
 A young woman fastening a wisp of paper in the hair of a young 
 man who has fallen asleep while seated by a kotatsu, reading a book. 
 
 329. A MUSUME MOSO. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Fuzoku Yamato Niju Shi Ko. (Japanese ver¬ 
 sions of well-known Chinese Tales). Signed: Koryusai ga. About 
 1770. 
 
 Another Ukiyo-e version of the legend of Moso. See note to 
 No. 223. 
 
 330. LOVERS WALKING UNDER AN UMBRELLA, IN 
 THE SNOW. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryu ga. About 1770. 
 
 —84— 
 
ISODA KORYUSAI 
 
 331. YOUNG MAN ON THE BANK OF A RIVER HOLD¬ 
 ING A GIRL ON HIS BACK AND LOOKING AT HER 
 REFLECTION IN THE WATER BELOW. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1770. 
 
 There is an exceptionally clever modern re-engraving of this print 
 with the signature “Harunobu” substituted for that of Koryusai. 
 
 332. WOMAN SEATED BY A KOTATSU (COVERED 
 FIRE BOX) WAITING FOR A MAN WHO IS SEEN 
 THROUGH THE WINDOW, COMING UNDER AN 
 UMBRELLA IN A DRIVING RAIN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1770. 
 
 333. WOMAN BEARING A LETTER DESCENDING A 
 FLIGHT OF STAIRS WHILE A YOUNG MAN ON A 
 BALCONY ABOVE CLAPS HIS HANDS TO CALL 
 HER BACK. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1770. 
 
 334. BOY AND HIS PARENTS ON THE DRUM BRIDGE 
 AT KAMEIDO THROWING BITS OF CAKE TO 
 GOLDFISH IN THE POND BELOW. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1770. 
 
 335. YOUNG MAN IN WINTER ATTIRE AND CARRY¬ 
 ING A SNOW-LADEN UMBRELLA, APPLYING FOR 
 ADMITTANCE AT THE ENTRANCE TO A HOUSE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1771. 
 
 336. WOMAN COMING FROM A PUBLIC BATH HOUSE; 
 THROUGH THE WINDOW A NUDE WOMAN IS 
 SEEN DRYING HERSELF. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1771. 
 
 337. GIRL HOLDING A KITE WHICH A YOUNG MAN 
 IS PREPARING TO FLY. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1771. 
 
 338. STROLLING MUSICIANS UNDER A WILLOW 
 TREE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1771. 
 
 —85— 
 
ISODA KORYUSAI 
 
 339. TWO YOUNG WOMEN UNDER A WILLOW TREE 
 ON A BREEZY DAY. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1771. 
 
 340. TWO YOUNG WOMEN HOLDING AN UMBRELLA 
 IN A SHOWER WITH HIGH WIND. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai zu. About 1771. 
 
 341. AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN A YOUNG MAN AND 
 A YOUNG WOMAN AT AN ENTRANCE GATE IN 
 WINTER. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1771. 
 
 342. WOMAN PLAYING WITH A PET MONKEY. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1771. 
 
 343. TALL WOMAN AND A WAITING YOUNG MAN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1772. 
 
 344 - YOUNG LOVERS STANDING UNDER A CHERRY 
 TREE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1771. 
 
 345 - YOUNG MAN KNEELING BEFORE A WOMAN 
 AND HANDING HER A LETTER. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1772. 
 
 346. JOSAN NO MIYA PLAYING WITH HER PET 
 KITTEN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1772. 
 
 347. TALL WOMAN IN NIGHT COSTUME, HOLDING 
 A PET RAT AND FEEDING IT WITH SUGAR. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1772. 
 
 348. AMAGOI KOMACHI. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1772. 
 
 Instead of the ode which, when recited by the ninth century 
 poetess Ono no Komachi brought rain to break a long drought, the 
 modern young woman accomplishes the same feat by reading a love 
 letter. This is a characteristic Ukiyo-e version of a classic incident. 
 
 —86— 
 
ISODA KORYUSAI 
 
 349 - MOTHER AND SON OUT FOR A WALK. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1773. 
 
 350. TWO WOMEN DANCING. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1773. 
 
 351 - WOMAN STANDING WITH HER HANDS CLASPED 
 ABOUT ONE OF THE POSTS OF A HOUSE. 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryu ga. About 1773. 
 
 352. WOMAN PLAYING A KOTO AND ANOTHER EX¬ 
 AMINING A BOX. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1774. 
 
 353 - THREE WOMEN READING A LONG LETTER. 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryu ga. About 1774. 
 
 354 - MITSUHANA OF OHISHI-YA PLAYING WITH A 
 PET MONKEY. 
 
 Koban. Series: Seiro Tokiwa Nishiki. Signed: Koryusai zu. 
 About 1774. 
 
 SEVEN PRINTS OF THE SERIES: “HINAGATA 
 WAKANA NO HATSU MOYO.” 
 
 Oban. Signed: Koryusai ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1775. 
 T his is a series of large prints of Yoshiwara beauties to which 
 Kiyonaga as well as Koryusai contributed. The prints appear to 
 have been issued at regular intervals, perhaps once a month, for a 
 considerable period. 
 
 355 - TAKIKAWA AND KATARAI OF OGI-YA. 
 
 356. TAMAZUSA OF YATA-YA AND ATTENDANTS. 
 357 - TATSUHANA OF OGI-YA AND ATTENDANTS. 
 
 358. SHIOGINU OF TSUTA-YA AND ATTENDANTS. 
 
 Remarkably preserved; the colors quite as when fresh from the 
 blocks. 
 
 —S7— 
 
1SODA KORYUSAI 
 
 359 - SHIROTAE OF OKANA-YA AND HER KAMURO 
 LOOKING AT GOLDFISH IN A TANK. 
 
 360. SAYOKINU OF YATSUME-YA ARRANGING PEACH 
 BLOSSOMS IN A FLOWER BASKET. 
 
 361. OSHU OF YAMAGUCHI-YA TALKING TO ONE OF 
 HER KAMURO WHILE THE OTHER LOOKS AT 
 WHITE RATS IN A CAGE. 
 
 362. CHOYO (THE CHRYSANTHEMUM FESTIVAL). 
 
 Oban. Series: Furyu Yaku Gosekku. (Elegant Services for the 
 Five Festivals). Signed: Koryu ga. About 1776. 
 
 A geisha and her assistant arranging chrysanthemums in a flower 
 basket. 
 
 363. WOMAN PLAYING A TSUZUMI AS THE MOON 
 RISES. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1774. 
 
 364. YOUNG MAN AND WOMAN GREETING THE RIS¬ 
 ING SUN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryu ga. About 1775. 
 
 The reference here appears to be to Jo and Uba, the spirits of 
 the pine trees of Sumiyoshi and Takasago. 
 
 365. TWO TALL GEISHAS. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryu ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1775 . 
 
 366. TALL WOMAN STANDING LOOKING DOWN AT 
 A LETTER THAT LIES AT HER FEET. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryusai ga. About 1776. 
 
 367. TALL WOMAN IN A BLACK UCHIKAKE WALK¬ 
 ING IN THE SNOW AND CARRYING AN ORANGE 
 AND BLUE UMBRELLA. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Koryu ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1776 . 
 
 FOUR BIRD AND FLOWER PRINTS. 
 
 Chuban, from a series without title or signature. 
 
 —S8— 
 
ISODA KORYUSAI 
 
 368. CRANES, IRIS, AND RISING SUN. 
 
 369. PHEASANTS AND PEACH BLOSSOMS. 
 
 370. MANDARIN DUCKS AND KOBAI (RED PLUM) 
 BLOSSOMS. 
 
 371. WHITE HERONS AND WATER PLANTS. 
 
 372. CRANES, BAMBOO, AND SUN. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Isoda Koryu ga. 
 
 373 - COCKS FIGHTING NEAR A CLUMP OF BAMBOOS. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Koryu ga. 
 
 374 - PARROT PERCHING ON A SASANKA TREE. 
 
 Koban. Signed: Koryusai ga. 
 
 375. A WHITE HARE ON A ROCK BY THE SEA, ON A 
 MOONLIGHT NIGHT, AND ANOTHER, OF SAL¬ 
 MON HUE RUNNING ACROSS THE WAVES. 
 
 Chuban. Not signed. 
 
 This is a notable print. The waves are rendered by exceptionally 
 beautiful gauffrage, and the printing throughout is done with the 
 greatest care. A popular myth of old Japan was that the hare 
 could run across the waves on or about the eighteenth day of the 
 eighth moon. 
 
 TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 The fourth artist to head the Torii line (it is usual to begin 
 the enumeration with Kiyonobu) was an adopted scion of the house. 
 His name was Sekiguchi Ichibei and he was the son, born in 1742, 
 of Sekiguchi Shinsuke, who kept a tobacco shop known as Shiroki- 
 ya at Shinba, Edo, and it is said that for a while when quite young 
 he was employed in a book shop kept by one Teramoto. He studied 
 under Torii Kiyomitsu, but from the first his work displayed marked 
 individuality and bears little resemblance to that of his master. In 
 the tremendous power of his facile brush he recalls the work of the 
 founder of the line, Torii Kiyonobu, but he was far more versatile 
 and had the wider resources of a highly developed art at his command) 
 
 —89— 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 Like his predecessors in the school, he painted with great skill the 
 large signs that adorned the fronts of the leading theatres and were 
 changed with each change of bill. It is related that instead of 
 painting these in his studio he was wont to travel about with assist¬ 
 ants carrying ladders, and to execute the work in situ. The dominant 
 characteristics of his style are rugged strength, and the marvelous 
 quality of his brush strokes. At the height of his power his influence 
 over his contemporaries was so great that almost without exception 
 the younger men among them copied his style as closely as they 
 could. About 1790 he gave up print designing for the more honored 
 occupation of painting. His paintings, however, are rare, though he 
 lived until the year 1814. His residence in Yedo was in Honzaimoku- 
 cho, Itchome, and in his later years at Bamba in the Honjo district. 
 Kiyonaga was one of the four or five greatest artists of the Ukiyo-e 
 school, and the culminating figure in its forward movement. 
 
 376. THE ACTOR SEGAWA KIKUNOJO. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, blue, and gray. Signed: Kiyonaga, hitsu. 
 Publisher: Kamimura Kichiemon. Probably 1761. 
 
 It is not often that it is possible to trace the development of a 
 great artist’s skill during the formative period. That we can do so 
 in the case of Kiyonaga lends interest to such a print as this which 
 is plainly the work of a tyro. So unformed are the lines that it is a 
 matter for wonder that a publisher could be found for it. And yet 
 there is a promise for the future in the work of the young man who 
 could not have been more than nineteen years old when the drawing 
 was made. 
 
 377. BANDO HIKOSABURO AS DOZAIMON DENKICHI 
 IN THE DRAMA “YAOYA OSHICHI.” 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, blue, and gray. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Pub¬ 
 lisher : Sakai-ya. Probably 1764. 
 
 In the interval between the production of this print and the 
 preceding one the increase in skill is very marked. There is a little, 
 but only a little, resemblance to the style of Kiyomitsu. 
 
 378. NAKAMURA TOMIJURO IN THE ROLE OF HINGA 
 UBAGATAKE NO MEGITSUNE. 
 
 Hosoe. Five color blocks. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1765. 
 
 Progress at this stage is not rapid, but it is steady. 
 
 —90— 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 379. A MIAI (LOOKING-AT-EACH-OTHER MEETING). 
 
 Koban: Series: Konrei Ju-ni Shiki. (The twelve stages of a 
 marriage contract). About 1767. 
 
 Here Kiyonaga essays a series in the style of Harunobu, who at 
 this time was the dominant figure in the Ukiyo-e school, with only 
 Shunsho as a rival. 
 
 380. BANDO MITSUGORO, ICHIKAWA MONNOSUKE 
 AND IWAI HANSHIRO IN A SHOSA (ACTING AND 
 DANCING) PERFORMNCE. 
 
 Hosoe triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1774. 
 
 Shunsho’s style is now attempted, but there is more of Kiyonaga 
 than of Shunsho in the result. 
 
 381. YOSHIWARA WOMEN PREPARING DECORA¬ 
 TIONS FOR A FESTIVAL. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Kuruwa Gosekku Asobi. (Amusements of 
 Women on the Five Festival Days). Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 
 1775. 
 
 Here it is Koryusai that is imitated, though there is quality in 
 the line that Koryusai could not achieve. 
 
 382. SEISHU RAKUGAN (GEESE FLYING DOWN IN 
 CLEAR AUTUMN WEATHER). 
 
 Koban. Series: Shikki Hakkei. (Eight views of the Four Sea¬ 
 sons). Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1776. 
 
 Two women are standing by a house, and one is looking at the 
 geese flying down. The resemblance is now to the style of Shigemasa, 
 an artist highly renowned for his brush strokes. Kiyonaga could not 
 follow any one better qualified to guide him in this regard, but not 
 for long did he follow anybody. 
 
 383. A CHILDREN’S GAME. 
 
 Koban. Series: Furyu Ju-ni Kiko. Title: Satsuki (Azalea), the 
 meaning of which is not obvious. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 
 1776. 
 
 A young woman out for a walk is waylaid by two boys who in 
 fun strike her with clubs of braided straw, while a girl claps her 
 hands to urge them on. 
 
 —91— 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 384. A GIRL AND A YOUNG MAN IN A TEA ROOM 
 PREPARING FOR THE CHA-NO-YU CEREMONY. 
 
 Koban. Series: Zashiki Hakkei. (Eight Parlor Scenes). Signed: 
 Kiyonaga ga. About 1777. 
 
 385. AN OIRAN LOOKING AT HER REFLECTION IN 
 A MIRROR AND ANOTHER STANDING BY HER 
 SIDE. 
 
 Koban. Series: Zashiki Hakkei. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 
 
 1777. 
 
 386. WOMAN ALIGHTING FROM A KAGO AT 
 YUMOTO. 
 
 Koban. Series: Hakone Shichito Meisho. (Seven Famous Hot 
 Springs). Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 
 
 1778. 
 
 Kiyonaga’s individual style is now fully developed. He under¬ 
 takes more ambitious performances a little later, but these small 
 prints are by no means the least attractive of his works. 
 
 387. TWO WOMEN ON THE VERANDA OF AN INN 
 AT MIYA-NO-SHITA; ONE SEATED UPON THE 
 RAILING, THE OTHER STANDING WRAPPED IN 
 A BATH ROBE. 
 
 Koban. Series: Hakone Shichito Meisho. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1778. 
 
 388. UMA NO NAISHI. 
 
 Koban. Series: Wakoku Bijin Ryaku Shu Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 About 1780. 
 
 389. TALL WOMAN WITH A PET DOG. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Series: Furyu Ju-ni Shi Inu. (Elegant Twelve Zodiac 
 Signs). This represents the sign of the dog. Not signed. About 
 1780. 
 
 390. MAISUMI OF OMONJI-YA ACCOMPANIED BY 
 TWO SHINZO AND HER KAMURO SHIGEKI AND 
 NANAMI. 
 
 Oban. Series: Hinagata Wakana no Hatsu Moyo. Signed: 
 Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1780. 
 
 —92— 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 391. WOMAN BATHING IN A LARGE TUB; AND OUT¬ 
 SIDE THE BATH ROOM DOOR ANOTHER WOM¬ 
 AN IN A BLUE YUKATA TALKING TO A BLACK 
 DOG. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 
 First state. In the second state (Spaulding and Koechlin collec¬ 
 tions) the pattern on the blue yukata is changed, also the diaper pat¬ 
 tern on the cupboard door, and in the upper right-hand corner thd 
 title of a series has been inserted. 
 
 392. SHICHI GATSU (THE SEVENTH MONTH). 
 
 Koban. Series: Minami Ju-ni Ko. (The twelve months at the 
 south, i. e. Shinagawa). Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1781. 
 
 Geishas at an evening party at a house in Shinagawa, overlooking 
 Edo bay. 
 
 393. JU GATSU (THE TENTH MONTH). 
 
 Same series as the foregoing. 
 
 A group of two women, a man, and a boy at the entrance to a 
 house. 
 
 394. VIEWING CHERRY BLOSSOMS ON ASUKA HILL. 
 
 Koban. Series: Edo Hakkei. (Eight Edo Views). Signed: 
 Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1781. 
 
 Two girls and a young man bearing two picnic boxes containing 
 food. 
 
 395. TWO WOMEN VIEWING THE MANDARIN DUCKS 
 AT THE KUJAKUJA-YA TEA HOUSE IN SHITAYA, 
 EDO. 
 
 Koban. Series: Cha Mise Ju Kei. (Ten tea-house scenes). 
 Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1781. 
 
 396. GEISHA AND HER ASSISTANT CARRYING A SAMI- 
 SEN BOX. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1781. 
 
 397. TALL WOMAN STANDING UNDER A WILLOW 
 TREE AND HOLDING A BLUE UMBRELLA OVER 
 HER HEAD. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 
 1781. 
 
 —93— 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 398. TALL WOMAN IN A BLUE YUKATA (BATH ROBE) 
 FANNING HERSELF WITH AN UCHIWA (ROUND 
 FAN). 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1781. 
 
 399. THE GEISHA OSUTE OF TAMIGAOKA-YA AS A 
 KAGURA DANCER. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 
 1781. 
 
 400. AN OIRAN AND TWO ATTENDANTS STANDING 
 BY THE CHOZUBACHI AT A SHINTO TEMPLE. 
 
 Koban. Series: Onna Imagawa. (Etiquette for women). Signed: 
 Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Iseji. About 1781. 
 
 401. WOMAN FISHING: MOTHER AND DAUGHTER 
 LOOKING ON. 
 
 Koban. Series: Enshoku Hana Kurabe. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 About 1782. 
 
 402. YOUNG SAMURAI AND A BALD-HEADED MAN 
 STOPPING IN THE ROAD TO SPEAK TO TWO 
 GIRLS. 
 
 Koban. Series: Edo Meisho Atsuga. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 About 1782. 
 
 403. THREE WOMEN AND A SMALL BOY VIEWING A 
 FLOTILLA OF PLEASURE BOATS FROM RYOGO- 
 KU BRIDGE. 
 
 Koban. Series: Asakusa Kinryusan Hakkei. (Eight views of 
 Kinryusan). Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 
 1782. 
 
 404. BOY REACHING UP FOR A PET DOG HELD IN 
 HIS MOTHER’S ARMS. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1782. 
 
 405. A POPULAR VIEW OF KANZAN AND JITOKU. 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1782. 
 
 The Taoist Rishi Kanzan and Jitoku, to give them their Japanese 
 names, were frequently depicted by the painters of the Kano and 
 
 —94— 
 
KI YONAGA 
 
 No. 431. The actors Ichikawa Yaozo and Ichikawa Kichitaro 
 
KI YONAGA 
 
 No. 440. Oiran viewing moonlight on Edo Bay 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 Chinese schools. Kiyonaga in this travesty substitutes a love lettec 
 for the religious makimono carried by Kanzan and instead of the 
 wizened sages shows a pair of young lovers standing close together. 
 
 406. WOMEN BUYING SINGING INSECTS FROM A 
 STREET VENDOR. 
 
 Koban. Series: Furyu Shiki no Tsuki. (Refined view of temple 
 visits during the four seasons). Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 
 
 407. TWO GIRLS STRUGGLING FOR THE POSSESSION 
 OF A LETTER, AND ANOTHER GIRL LOOKING 
 ON. 
 
 Koban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1782. 
 
 408. VIEW OF FUJI SAN FROM TOTSUKA IN AUTUMN. 
 
 Koban. Series: Shiki no Fuji. (Fuji in the four seasons). 
 Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1782. 
 
 A man and woman travelling along the highway pause while the 
 man ties his sandal. Fuji is seen between the trunks of two large 
 pine trees. 
 
 409. TALL WOMAN IN A BLUE KIMONO AND RED 
 OBI AT THE ENTRANCE TO A PUBLIC BATH 
 HOUSE. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1783. 
 
 410. WOMAN BRUSHING HER TEETH WHILE STAND¬ 
 ING ON A VERANDA BY A POT OF MORNING 
 GLORIES. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1783. 
 
 411. A BOY BEING CARRIED BY HIS PARENTS TO THE 
 DISTRICT SHINTO TEMPLE FOR THE MIYA 
 MAIRI OR NAMING CEREMONY. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1783. 
 
 412. TALL WOMAN STANDING BY A BED ON WHICH 
 ANOTHER WOMAN IS SEATED UNDER A MOS¬ 
 QUITO NET CANOPY. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 
 1783. 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 TWELVE PRINTS OF THE “AZUMA NO NISHIKI” 
 (BROCADE OF THE EASTERN CAPITAL) SERIES. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1784. 
 
 413. WOMAN TAKING A BOY FOR A WALK ON HIS 
 FIFTH BIRTHDAY, WHEN FOR THE FIRST TIME 
 HE WEARS THE CEREMONIAL KAMISHIMO AND 
 HAKAMA AND HAS HIS HAIR DRESSED AND TIED 
 IN A KNOT. 
 
 414. TALL WOMAN IN SUMMER COSTUME, AND TWO 
 MAIDS FOLLOWING. 
 
 415. A MORNING ENCOUNTER: A WOMAN GOING 
 TO A PUBLIC BATH HOUSE IN A SHOWER TURNS 
 TO GREET TWO WOMEN WHO ARE RETURNING. 
 
 4x6. WOMEN BUYING POTTED TREES AND FUKU- 
 JUSO FROM A STREET VENDOR AT NEW YEAR’S. 
 
 417. CARRYING A BABY GIRL TO THE DISTRICT 
 SHINTO TEMPLE FOR THE MIYA MAIRI OR 
 NAMING CEREMONY. 
 
 418. TWO WOMEN GOING TO A PICNIC ATTENDED 
 BY A MAID AND A MAN SERVANT BEARING 
 BOXES OF PROVISIONS AND UTENSILS FOR 
 SERVING THEM. 
 
 The colors in this print have not faded or decomposed in the 
 
 slightest degree. The unmodified condition of the blue is extremely 
 
 rare. 
 
 419. LADY ACCOMPANIED BY TWO MAIDS, ONE OF 
 WHOM HOLDS AN UMBRELLA OVER HER, TAK¬ 
 ING HER YOUNG SON AND HER DAUGHTER TO 
 THE DISTRICT TEMPLE. 
 
 420. TWO LADIES OUT FOR A WALK ACCOMPANIED 
 BY A MAID SERVANT AND A YOUNG SAMURAI. 
 
 One of the ladies carries a mamori bukuro (a sort of talisman). 
 
 The lemon yellow is a novelty in Kiyonaga’s color schemes, though 
 
 Shunsho made use of it more than ten years earlier. 
 
 — 96 — 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 421. A SAMURAI AND HIS FAMILY OUT FOR A WALK. 
 
 422. GROUP OF WOMEN IN A PUBLIC BATH HOUSE. 
 Two of the women are standing and a third is seated, preparing 
 
 to cut her toe nails with a pair of scissors. This is one of the most 
 highly esteemed of Kiyonaga’s prints. 
 
 423. VIEWING THE LESPEDEZA IN BLOOM AT HAGI- 
 DERA. 
 
 Diptych. 
 
 424. GROUP OF WOMEN UNDER A CHERRY TREE. 
 
 Diptych. 
 
 At the right two women are seated on a shogi, another woman 
 stands by behind them and a girl holds a portable hibachi (fire-box) 
 at which one of them is lighting her pipe. At the left two women 
 and a young girl are gathering spring flowers. The women wear 
 the tsunokakushi or paper cover to protect their coiffures. 
 
 Conscious of his power, Kiyonaga now essays compositions of 
 extreme difficulty. In the right hand sheet the masses are arranged 
 diagonally and vertically in sharply contrasting lines. Only a con¬ 
 summate master could save such an arrangement from failure. Note 
 how the composition is held together by the cloth lying upon the 
 bench, and by the red sash of the woman in gray. And how skilfully 
 are the two sheets designed so that each is a unit by itself and the 
 unity of effect is completely preserved when they are joined togther. 
 
 SEVEN PRINTS OF ACTORS. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1784. 
 
 The prints of this series are all of distinguished quality. For 
 some inexplicable reason they are of great rarity. 
 
 425. THE FIFTH ICHIKAWA DANJURO. 
 
 426. NAKAMURA NAKAZO AND AZUMA TOZO. 
 
 427. ICHIKAWA MONNOSUKE AND AN UNIDENTI¬ 
 FIED ACTOR. 
 
 428. MATSUMOTO KOSHIRO AND MATSUMOTO 
 
 DAISHICHI. 
 
 —97— 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 429. ICHIKAWA YAOZ6 AND ICHIKAWA KICHITARO. 
 
 430. ARASHI SANJURO AND ANOTHER, UNIDENTI¬ 
 FIED. 
 
 431. OTANI HIROJI AND YAMASHITA KINSAKU. 
 
 432. BOATING PARTY UNDER RYOGOKU BRIDGE. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1785. 
 
 433. WOMEN LANDING FROM A PLEASURE BOAT. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1785. 
 
 434. USHIWAKA SERENADING JORURI HIME. 
 
 435- First and third sheets of an oban triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 Publisher: Eijudo. About 1785. 
 
 Apparently the blocks with which this triptych was printed were 
 destroyed, probably in the great fire of 1786, for about 1788 Kiyonaga 
 designed another triptych presenting the same subject treated quite 
 similarly though varying in details, such as the coiffures of the 
 women, which in each case are in the prevailing mode. An im¬ 
 pression of the later triptych is in this collection. See No. 457. 
 
 436. THE IRIS GARDEN. 
 
 Oban diptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1785. 
 
 The blocks of this print were also probably destroyed in the 
 great fire of 1786. As in the cast of the preceding number Kiyonaga 
 made a second design of the same subject about three years later. 
 The right-hand sheet of the later print is reproduced as one of the 
 illustrations in Professor Fenollosa’s “An Outline of the History of 
 Ukiyoye.” 
 
 437. THE FERRY BOAT. 
 
 Oban. Middle sheet of a triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 
 17 85. 
 
 This again is a sheet of a triptych of which there were two 
 designs at an interval of about three years. In this instance, however, 
 the later design did not follow the earlier one as closely as in the 
 case of the two preceding numbers. 
 
 —98— 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 438. THE MERRYMAKERS. 
 
 Oban diptych. Series: Minami Ju-ni Ko. (The twelve months 
 at the south, i. e. Shinagawa). 
 
 The series of twelve diptychs, of which this is one, are among 
 Kiyonaga’s most notable works. The scene is a young man and 
 a group of women making merry with sake and the music of the 
 samisen. Through a large open window appears the water of 
 Edo bay, with junks at anchor, near a sandy beach where people 
 are digging clams. 
 
 439. VIEWING THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS AT GOTEN- 
 YAMA. 
 
 Oban; right-hand sheet of diptych. Same series as the preceding 
 number. 
 
 440. AN OIRAN LOOKING OUT AT THE MOONLIGHT 
 ON EDO BAY, THROUGH A BARRED WINDOW, 
 AND TWO OTHER WOMEN READING A LETTER 
 BY THE LIGHT OF AN ANDON. 
 
 Oban. Same series. 
 
 This is perhaps Kiyonaga’s finest print. Whether the entire 
 composition is a diptych is uncertain, but so far as the compiler of 
 this catalogue is aware a second sheet is not known to exist. 
 
 441. SEIRO YUKI NO ASA (A GREEN HOUSE ON A 
 SNOWY MORNING). 
 
 Oban. Left-hand sheet of diptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 
 1785. 
 
 An oiran standing by a window through which a snow-clad land¬ 
 scape appears; and a young man writing a letter while a maid fans 
 the fire in a hibachi. 
 
 442. THREE WOMEN ON THE BANK OF THE SUMIDA 
 RIVER. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1785. 
 
 443. THREE WOMEN WALKING ON THE BANK OF 
 THE SUMIDA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1785. 
 
 This print and the preceding form a diptych, but it is probable 
 that there should be a third sheet, the three forming a triptych. 
 
 —99— 
 
TORI! KIYONAGA 
 
 FIVE PRINTS FROM THE SERIES “TOSEI YURI 
 BIJIN AWASE.” 
 
 Oban. Signed: Iviyonaga ga. About 1786. 
 
 444. TWO WOMEN CARRYING AN UMBRELLA AND 
 FOLLOWED BY A MAID SERVANT. 
 
 445. TWO GEISHAS AND A YOUNG MN. 
 
 446. TWO GEISHAS STANDING AND ANOTHER SEAT¬ 
 ED ON A SHOGI WITH A WHITE KITTEN ASLEEP 
 ON HER LAP. 
 
 447. A MAN SEATED ON A BED UNDER A MOSQUITO 
 NET CANOPY, A WOMAN STANDING, AND AN¬ 
 OTHER KNEELING AND LIFTING THE NET 
 WITH HER RIGHT HAND. 
 
 448. GROUP OF MERRYMAKERS UPON A BALCONY. 
 
 Diptych. 
 
 449. WOMAN IN WINTER COSTUME, HER HEAD 
 COVERED BY A BLACK ZUKIN. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1786. 
 
 450. MUSUME IN A BLACK ZUKIN ON A BREEZY DAY 
 IN SPRING. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1786. 
 
 This is one of Kiyonaga’s masterpieces. The upright form serves 
 to accentuate the horizontal movement of the wind-blown garments 
 and the wistaria flowers waving above. The drawing of the black 
 zukin about the girl’s head, and the superb brush strokes with which 
 the whole is executed, are among the finest things in all Ukiyo-e. 
 
 451. MUSUME UNDER A WILLOW TREE IN A GALE 
 OF WIND. 
 
 Hashira-ye. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1786. 
 
 This also is one of Kiyonaga’s triumphs. The theme is virtually 
 the same as that of the preceding number, but the rythm is different. 
 
 —100- 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 452. MATSUMOTO KOSHIRO AND TWO WOMEN 
 LOOKING AT A TEA JAR. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1786. 
 
 453. A MAN AND TWO WOMEN IN THE SNOW AT 
 THE ENTRANCE TO A TEA-HOUSE. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1786. 
 
 454. WOMEN UPON A VERANDA ADMIRING THE NEW 
 FALLEN SNOW. 
 
 Oban. Part of a diptych or triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 About 1787. 
 
 455. GROUP OF WOMEN BENEATH THE TORII OF A 
 SHINTO TEMPLE. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1787. 
 
 456. GATHERING SPRING FLOWERS NEAR A FARM 
 HOUSE. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Fushizen. About 1787. 
 457 - USHIWAKA SERENADING JORURI-HIME. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 
 1788. 
 
 The story of the little Ojosan Joruri-hime is a pathetic one. When 
 Yoshitsune—known in his younger days as Ushiwaka (young ox) — 
 escaped from the custody of the monks of Kurama-dera and fled to 
 the North to join Shigeyori and set up a revolt against the Taira, 
 he was detained for some days at the village of Yahagi near Okazaki, 
 and stopped at the house of the soncho (village headman). This 
 soncho, one Kanetaka, was a rich man of the class known as goshi, 
 and had a granddaughter Joruri-hime (Pure-emerald maid), whose 
 father was the noble lord Chunagon Fushimi Moronaka. The mother 
 having died when the girl was yet a child, Joruri-hime was brought 
 up by her grandparents, who bestowed every care upon her education. 
 At the time of Ushiwaka’s visit to Yahagi she was fifteen years of age 
 and “so beautiful and graceful that the moon and flowers could 
 hardly vie with her in fascinating the human heart.” 
 
 It happened that while Ushiwaka was strolling inKanetaka’s garden 
 he heard the little maid singing and playing upon her Tsukushi harp 
 (koto). Ushiwaka responded by strains upon his flute “so sweet 
 
 —101— 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 and subduing that a fish would rise to the surface of the water and a 
 bird flit to the ground to enjoy them.” Catching a glimpse of the 
 player and being impressed by his appearance as well as by his skill 
 as a musician, Joruri-hime sent her maid Reizei to inquire who the 
 handsome youth could be. The knowledge of his exalted rank broke 
 down all restraint. Clandestine meetings followed until at the end 
 of ten days Shigeyori appeared and Ushiwaka rode away with him 
 to raise the standard of the Minamoto and begin the war against the 
 hated Taira. Poor little Joruri-hime is said to have felt death in her 
 soul as her lover rode away. And death it was, for she had defied 
 convention, and only a few weeks later her body was brought home 
 from the water of the Yahagigawa, into which she had thrown herself. 
 
 458. A PICNIC UNDER THE BLOSSOMING CHERRY 
 TREES. 
 
 Oban. Right-hand sheet of a triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 About 1788. 
 
 459 - WOMEN AND CHILDREN CROSSING A STONE 
 BRIDGE. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1788. 
 
 460. GIRL AND TWO WOMEN AT NIHON BASHI, SET¬ 
 TING FORTH ON A PILGRIMAGE TO ENOSHIMA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1788. 
 
 461. WAYFARERS SEEKING SHELTER FROM A 
 
 462. SHOWER. 
 
 Oban. First and third sheets of a triptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 About 1788. 
 
 463. NEW YEAR’S DAY VIEW OF THE EIJUDO PRINT 
 SHOP. 
 
 Oban Yokoye. Signed: Torii Kiyonaga ga. About 1789. 
 Nishimura Yohachi, whose shop name was Eijudo, was the 
 leading print publisher of Edo in his day. Many of the finest prints 
 were, issued by him. This is an interesting print, though the New 
 Year’s decorations obstruct the view of the shop front. 
 
TORII KIYONAGA 
 
 464. WOMEN ON A BALCONY ACCOSTING A FAN- 
 MOUNT VENDOR IN THE STREET BELOW. 
 
 Oban vertical diptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1789. 
 
 465. WOMEN LOOKING AT PICTURE BOOKS. 
 
 Koban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Tsuru-ya. About 
 
 466. A WOMAN OUT FOR A WALK ATTENDED BY 
 TWO MAIDS. 
 
 Koban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1789. 
 
 467. WOMEN AT A WAYSIDE TEA HOUSE ON THE 
 BEACH OPPOSITE ENOSHIMA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1790. 
 
 468. IMPRESSION FROM THE KEY-BLOCK OF THE 
 PRECEDING. 
 
 469. JOSAN NO MIYA, HER PET KITTEN, AND A 
 YOUNG GIRL. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1790. 
 
 470. COURT LADIES ON A VERANDA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. About 1790. 
 
 471. an impromptu entertainment. 
 
 Oban. Left-hand sheet of a pentaptych. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. 
 Publisher: Tsutaya. About 1790. 
 
 472. BOYS PLAYING THE GAME OF DRAWING LOTS. 
 
 Koban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Tsutava. About 1790. 
 
 473 - THE DOLL’S FESTIVAL. CHILDREN AT PLAY 
 ON THE THIRD DAY OF THE THIRD MONTH. 
 Oban. Signed: Kiyonaga ga. Publisher: Tsutaya. About 1790. 
 This print is one of a set of five for the Gosekku or five festivals 
 of the year. 
 
 —103— 
 
KATSUKAWA SHUNCHO 
 
 KATSUKAWA SHUNCHO 
 
 This artist, who was known familiarly as Kichizaemon, was a 
 pupil of Katsukawa Shunsho. After leaving that master’s studio 
 he published a few actor prints in the style of Shunsho. Very soon, 
 however, he came under the influence of Kiyonaga and imitated his 
 style so closely that were it not for the signature his prints might 
 well be taken for the work of the Torii leader. Many of them are 
 extremely fine both in design and color, but they are weaker than 
 those by Kiyonaga, and more uneven in merit. The dates of his 
 birth and death are not known. 
 
 474. THREE WOMEN VIEWING THE FAMOUS BIG 
 PINE KNOWN AS “EKO MATSU.” 
 
 Oban. Signed: Shuncho ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1784. 
 
 475. THREE WOMEN AND A YOUNG GIRL OUT FOR 
 A WALK IN SUMMER. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Shuncho ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1784. 
 
 THREE PRINTS FORMING THE SERIES “UKIYO 
 SETSU-GETSU-KA” (SNOW-MOON-FLOWER). 
 
 Oban. Signed: Shunchd ga. Publisher: Shoeido. About 1785. 
 
 476. SNOW. 
 
 A man and three women grouped about a hibachi. Through the 
 open shoji falling snow is seen. 
 
 477. MOON. 
 
 Three geishas standing on a bridge. 
 
 478. FLOWER. 
 
 Two women and a young man on Asuka hill in the time of the 
 cherry blossoming. 
 
 479. TANABATA (SEVENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH 
 MONTH). 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Shuncho ga. Series: Gosekku yu. (Amuse¬ 
 ments on the five festival days.) About 1787. 
 
 A woman seated on a bench and two women standing. 
 
 —104— 
 
KATSUKAWA SHUNCHO 
 
 480. YOUNG MAN IN TRAVELLING COSTUME PAUS¬ 
 ING TO SPEAK TO TWO GIRLS RESTING AT A 
 YOSHIZU (WAYSIDE BOOTH) CHAYA. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Shunchd ga. Publisher: Izumi-ya. Aobut 1787. 
 
 481. THREE WOMEN ADMIRING HAGI BLOSSOMS. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Shu Ku Awase Shiki no Hana (Comparison of 
 splendid Odes of the Four Seasons). Signed: Shuncho ga. 
 
 482. PLEASURE BOATS AT A LANDING. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Shuncho ga. Publisher: Tsuru-ya. About 
 
 1788. 
 
 483. WOMEN BOARDING A PLEASURE BOAT. 
 
 Oban diptych. Signed: Shuncho ga. About 1788. 
 
 484. STREET PARADE IN THE YOSHIWARA. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Shuncho ga. Publisher: Izumi-ya. About 
 
 1789. 
 
 485. WOMEN WALKING IN THE ENVIRONS OF EDO 
 IN SUMMER. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Shunchd ga. About 1790. 
 
 486. WOMEN AND MAN SERVANT ON THE BANK OF 
 THE SUMIDA RIVER. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Shunchd ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1790. 
 
 KATSUKAWA SHUNSHO 
 
 One of the greatest of the Ukiyo-e artists was Katsukawa Shunsho. 
 During the Meiwa period his prints form a parallel series to those of 
 Harunobu, though in a different field. While they clearly show 
 the influence of Harunobu, it is evident that this influence only served 
 to develop Shunsho’s power. He was a master of strong, virile, and 
 always rythmic draughtsmanship, and was also a colorist of the very 
 first rank. Of his life few details are known. His personal name 
 was Yusuke, and he was a pupil of the painter Katsu Miyagawa Shun- 
 sui. At first he called himself Katsu Miyagawa Shunsho, but, follow¬ 
 ing the example of his master, he combined the first two names and 
 
 —105— 
 
KATSUKAWA SHUNSHO 
 
 shortened them to Katsukawa. In early life he was very poor and 
 lived in the house of the publisher Hayashi Hichiemon at Ningyo-cho, 
 Edo. His prints prior to 1765 are not very good and could hardly 
 have given promise of the splendid work that came from his hand 
 only a little later. When the new style of nishiki-ye prints came in, 
 he perceived an opening for his talent in making portraits of actors 
 in the novel manner. His first efforts in this style had a compelling 
 quality that brought instant recognition and he very soon became fa¬ 
 mous. For about fifteen years he continued to produce actor prints in 
 large numbers, and also illustrated a number of books in collaboration 
 with Shigemasa and Ippitsusai Buncho. His works have hardly been 
 appreciated yet as they deserve. The best of them yield a pure aesthetic 
 joy that is as rare as it is precious. In his later years Shunsho devoted 
 himself to painting and designed only an occasional print. He died 
 on the nth day of the 12th month of Kansei 4 (January 22, 1793) 
 and was buried at Saifukuji Temple, Asakusa. Shunsho often used 
 a seal shaped like a jar, upon which was inscribed the ideograph, 
 “Hayashi.” For this he obtained the nickname Tsubo (jar). 
 
 487. AN OIRAN. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Signed: Shunsho ga. About 1780. 
 
 488. VERY TALL OIRAN. 
 
 Wide hashira-ye. Signed: Shunsho ga. About 1780. 
 
 KITAO SHIGEMASA 
 
 Kitao Sasuke, known as Shigemasa, was born in Edo in 1739 and 
 is said to have begun his career as an employee in the shop of Suwaraya 
 Mohei, the leading bookseller and publisher (not, however, of Ukiyo-e 
 works) in Japan. For a short time before the death of Shigenaga in 
 1756, he was a pupil in his studio; and at the age of twenty he began 
 to design actor prints which in some respects were an advance upon 
 any similar works by the older artists. Establishing himself at Odenma 
 cho Nichome, he soon was in great demand as a calligrapher, being 
 reputed unequalled by any one in his time in either Edo, Osaka, or 
 Kyoto. Much of his time was given to book illustration. He made 
 designs for at least twenty-seven works. One of these, the “Seiro 
 Bijin Awase Kagami” which he illustrated in collaboration with 
 Katsukawa Shunsho, is generally considered the most beautiful book 
 
 —106— 
 
KITAO SHIGEMASA 
 
 produced in Japan. The prints designed by him were comparatively 
 few, but of distinguished quality. After about 1772 he seldom signed 
 them, deeming his dignified style and superb brush strokes so inimi¬ 
 table that no signature was needed. The exceptions are the surimono 
 which he usually signed with the go Kosuisai. In his later days he 
 resided at Otsukamura, Negishi, then a suburb of Edo. He died in 
 1819. 
 
 489. ICHIMURA UZAEMON IN THE ROLE OF NAGOYA 
 SANZA. 
 
 Hosoe. Beni, yellow, and green. Signed: Kitao Shigemasa ga. 
 Publisher: mark not identified. About 1760. 
 
 490. YAMASHITA KISAKU AS ONO NO KOMACHI. 
 
 Hosoe. Pale beni, deep beni, and pale blue. Not signed. About 
 1764. 
 
 491. WOMEN ARRANGING FLOWERS. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Shigemasa ga. About 1769. 
 
 492. THE POET NARIHIRA AND ATTENDANTS CROSS¬ 
 ING THE SNOW-COVERED BRIDGE IN SANO. 
 Koban. Signed: Shigemasa ga. About 1770. 
 
 493. A FLIRTATION IN AN ARCHERY GALLERY. 
 
 Koban. Not signed. About 1772. 
 
 494 - GROUP AT THE BACK DOOR OF A TEA-HOUSE. 
 
 Chuban. Series: Toei Fumoto Hakkei. Not signed. About 1774. 
 
 495. THE MOMIJI-URI ODORI (MAPLE LEAVES SELL¬ 
 ER DANCE). 
 
 Chuban. Series: Enshi Odori Fuzoku. Not signed. About 1775. 
 
 496. THE MIYAKODORI ODORI (SEA GULL DANCE). 
 
 Chuban. Same series as the preceding. 
 
 497- DOLL DRESSED AS A TSUZUMI PLAYER. 
 
 Oban. Not signed. 
 
 One of a set of five figures known as “Gonen Bayashi.” 
 
 —107- 
 
KITAO SHIGEMASA 
 
 498. TWO GEISHAS IN THIN SUMMER CLOTHES. 
 
 Oban. Not signed. 1776. 
 
 This print bears an inscription probably contemporary, indicating 
 the year 1776 as its date. It is stated that the transparent fabric worn 
 by the girl who is standing was first depicted in color prints in the 
 year Anyei 5 (1776). 
 
 499- TWO GEISHAS STANDING; ONE HOLDING A 
 SAMISEN, THE OTHER READING TO HER FROM 
 A BOOK. 
 
 Oban. Not signed. Probably 1776. 
 
 This is perhaps Shigemasa’s masterpiece. In it he reaches the height 
 of his power. Note how the patterns on the draperies supplement the 
 rhythm of the black outlines. 
 
 KITAO MASANOBU 
 
 Iwase Haida, known to fame as the artist Kitao Masanobu and 
 as the novelist Kyoden, was born in Kiba, Fukagawa, Edo, at the 
 house of the publisher whose shop name was Ise-ya, on the 18th day 
 of the 18th month of Horeki II (1761). In early life he called him¬ 
 self Kyoya Denzo and kept a shop in Kyobushi Ginza, Nichome, 
 where he sold tobacco, pipes, and medicines. He was a pupil of Kitao 
 Shigemasa. His prints, though few in number, are of great distinc¬ 
 tion. All, or nearly all of them were done when he was quite young. 
 Without doubt his reputation as an artist, though deservedly high, 
 would be much wider had he not given up painting and print designing 
 after he reached hs thirtieth year, and thenceforth devoted his energies 
 chiefly to literary work. He is celebrated not only for his novels, but 
 also for his poems and in particular for the comic odes he wrote under 
 the pseudonym of Magaru- no- Orisuke. He died on the 7th day of 
 the 9th month of Bunka 13 (1816) and was buried in Ekoin Temple, 
 Ryogoku, Edo. 
 
 500. THE OIRAN HITOMOTO OF DAIMONJI-YA AND 
 HER ATTENDANT SHINZO AND KAMURO. 
 
 Oban. From the album “Seiro Meikun Jihitsu Shu.” 1783. 
 
 —108— 
 
KITAO MASANOBU 
 
 501. THE GEISHA YAMASHITA HANA AND HER TWO 
 ASSISTANTS. 
 
 Ob a n. Series: Tosei Bijin Iro Kissi. Signed: Kitao Masanobu 
 ga. About 1783. 
 
 . T he Principal figure, Yamashita Hana, wears a thin black kimono 
 with a green obi, and is playing with a kitten. Her hair is in the new 
 style of Temmei san (1783). Her companions still have the old 
 style of coiffure in which the ends of the bamboo splint project slightly 
 beyond the wings. The new style does not appear to have been gener- 
 ally adopted until some years later. 
 
 KUBO SHUNMAN 
 
 This artist, whose personal name was Kubota Yasubei, was at 
 first the pupil of an obscure painter named Kajitori Nahiko, but later 
 entered the studio of Shigemasa. Like all the artists of his time he 
 came somewhat under the influence of Kiyonaga, but he was too strong 
 a man to follow any one’s lead without variation, and he soon devel¬ 
 oped a style of his own. His prints have marked individuality, espe¬ 
 cially in their color schemes. By the Japanese his works are greatly 
 admired for their esoteric quality. Most of his later prints are 
 surimono. Like many of the Ukiyo-e artists he was also an author 
 of note. His comic poems, which gained him much renown, were 
 signed Nandaka Shiran, a name having the similitude of that of a 
 Buddhist sage, but when written in the Japanese kana, signifying “I 
 don t know what it is. ’ He painted with his left hand and because 
 of this he frequently signed himself Shosado. He was born in 1757 
 and died in 1820. 
 
 502. GROUP OUTSIDE A DWELLING AT NIGHT. 
 
 Oban. Right-hand sheet of triptych. Signed: Kubo Shunman ga. 
 Publisher: Fushizen. 
 
 503. WOMEN FORDING THE IDE NO TAMAGAWA. 
 
 Oban. Right-hand sheet of the six-sheet composition “The Six 
 Tama Rivers/’ Signed: Shunman. Publisher: Fushizen. 
 
 504. TWO SHIOKUMI (SALT-WATER CARRIERS) REST¬ 
 ING UNDER A MAPLE TREE ON THE SEA SHORE. 
 
 Yokoye Surimono. Signed: Shosado Kubo Shunman ga. 
 
 —10£— 
 
KUBO SHUNMAN 
 
 505. WOMAN CARRYING REFRESHMENTS TO A 
 GROUP OF WORKERS IN A RICE FIELD. 
 
 Yokoye surimono. Signed: Shunman. 
 
 HOSODA EISHI 
 
 7 heoretically, at least, the life of the samurai was one of extreme 
 frugality and almost ascetic self-denial. Under the peaceful Toku- 
 gawa rule, however, the rigor of the discipline was so much relaxed 
 that it was not uncommon for men of the two-sworded class to adopt 
 the freer life and share in the amusements and dissipation of the com¬ 
 mon people. Among those yielding to these allurements was the artist 
 Hosoda Jibukyo Fujiwara no Tokitomi, known to us by the brush 
 name of Eishi (commonly written Yeishi, although the Y should not 
 be sounded). This name was given him by the Shogun Iyeharu in 
 whose household he held an official post for three years after he left 
 the studio of Kano Eisen where he received his education as a painter. 
 It is said that he left this post on account of ill health, but whatever 
 the reason, he was in some way attracted by the work of the Ukiyo-e 
 masters, and especially it is said, by that of Okumura Masanobu. In 
 honor of Masanobu and of the Torii school he then adopted Cho- 
 bunsai as one of his artist names, Cho being the other pronunciation 
 of the ideograph Tori, Bun being a part of one of Masanobu’s appella¬ 
 tions, and Sai (studio) signifying by connotation a follower. He lived 
 at Hama-cho near Nihon bashi and afterward at Honjo Warigesui, 
 Edo. Many of the finest prints issued during the culminating period 
 in the history of the art are from his hand, and are marvels of clever 
 design and skillful engraving and printing. He died in 1829 at an 
 advanced age. 
 
 506. VIEWING THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS AT ASUKA 
 HILL. 
 
 Oban diptych, one sheet an ink impression from the key-block. 
 
 Signed: Chobun. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1787. 
 
 The ingenious way in which the cherry blossoms were indicated 
 in the drawing is worth noting. After the color blocks had been made 
 the black outlines were cut from the key block. The same method 
 is shown even more clearly in the following number where an im¬ 
 pression from the key-block and one in full color are shown side by 
 side. 
 
 —110— 
 

 *■* 
 
 -r ■»«mii | yiw* iiifiy 1 
 
 SHUNCHO 
 
 No. 477. Three geishas on a bridge 
 

 SHIGEMASA 
 
 The Maple-leaves-seller dance 
 
 No. 495. 
 

HOSODA EISHI 
 
 507. WOMEN AT A TEA BOOTH ON ASUKA HILL IN 
 THE TIME OF THE CHERRY BLOSSOMING. 
 
 Oban. Ink print from the key-block and the finished print. Signed: 
 Eishi ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1787. 
 
 508. GROUP AT A TEA BOOTH OVERLOOKING THE 
 SANDS AT SHINAGAWA IN THE TIME OF THE 
 CHERRY BLOSSOMING. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Eishi ga. About 1787. 
 
 509. WOMEN FISHING WITH HOOK AND LINE AT A 
 BOAT LANDING. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Eishi ga. Publisher: Izumi-ya. About 1788. 
 
 510. WOMEN AND BOY VIEWING THE CHERRY BLOS¬ 
 SOMS IN THE GROUNDS OF KIYOMIZU TEMPLE, 
 KYOTO. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Eishi ga. Publisher: Izumi-ya. About 1788. 
 
 511. THE OIRAN NANAMACHI OF YOTSUMI-YA WITH 
 HER KAMURO AND A SHINZO NEAR A STAND OF 
 FIRE BUCKETS UNDER A CHERRY TREE. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Eishi ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 1788. 
 
 512. THE OIRAN KOMURASAKI OF KADOTAMA-YA 
 AND ATTENDANTS. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Eishi ga. About 1788. 
 
 THREE TRIPTYCHS OF THE “FURYU YATSUSHI 
 GENJI” SERIES. 
 
 Oban triptychs. Signed: Eishi ga. Publisher: Izumi-ya. About 
 1790. 
 
 These triptychs which are among Eishi’s finest works depict mod¬ 
 ernized versions of supposed incidents in the life of Prince Genji, the 
 hero of the classic romance “Genji Monogatari.” 
 
 513- A MORNING GLORY FETE. 
 
 Prince Genji preparing to compose an ode about the flower lying 
 before him: women are grouped about him in various attitudes. 
 
 —111— 
 
HOSODA EISHI 
 
 514- MATSUKAZE (WIND IN THE PINES). 
 
 In a room in the corner of a nobleman’s mansion a lady is playing 
 a koto; a group of women are about her and one in a black kimono 
 and bearing a hand lantern goes to meet Prince Genji who is advanc¬ 
 ing attended by two women and a girl. 
 
 515. AN OLD-TIME FETE. 
 
 Prince Genji is seated under a maple tree, a blue and white striped 
 wind screen hung up behind him. He is listening to the music of a 
 tsuri-daiko (a large drum on a stand), a tsuzumi (a smaller drum), 
 and a sho (an instrument resembling pan pipes, which was used in 
 the Fujiwara period), played by three women. 
 
 516. A LADY AND A NUMBER OF ATTENDANT WOM¬ 
 EN CATCHING SINGING INSECTS. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Eishi ga. Publisher: Eijudo. About 
 1790. 
 
 517- THE TAYU MI-I-ZAN OF SHOJI-YA IN NIGHT COS¬ 
 TUME. 
 
 Oban. Series: Seiro Bisen Awase. Signed: Eishi gi ga. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Iwato-ya. About 1794. 
 
 518. THE TAYU ITANA MURASAKI OF TAMA-YA. 
 
 Oban. Series: Seiro Bisen Awase. Signed: Eishi gi ga. Pub¬ 
 lisher : Iwato-ya. About 1794. 
 
 It is not easy to understand why Eishi should have signed this and 
 the preceding number “gi ga” or joke pictures. In them almost the 
 last word in the art of color printing would seem to have been uttered. 
 Instead of the chocolate ground covered with a thin film of silver as in 
 these prints, impressions were also made with grounds of silver over 
 pale yellow. They were issued about the time when Sharaku’s re¬ 
 markable actor portraits were appearing and Utamaro was at the 
 height of his power. 
 
 519- LANTERN FESTIVAL UNDER A WISTARIA ARBOR. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Eishi zu. Publisher: Eijudo. About 
 1796. 
 
 In the centre a young man with a fan tied upon his head is dancing, 
 while in a circle about him are eight women, some seated and others 
 
 — 112 — 
 
HOSODA EISHI 
 
 standing. Two are playing the samisen, others are clapping hands, 
 while two have hold of the ends of a rope having a large loop in the 
 middle. The dance is mimetic. The dancer represents a fox disguised 
 as a man. By the loop in the rope is an inro (medicine case) on a 
 sheet of paper. This represents the bait to catch the fox. The dancer’s 
 aim is by a rapid movement to grab the inro without being caught 
 by the rope. 
 
 TORIYAMA SEKIYEN 
 
 Toriyama Sekiyen was the “go” or studio name of Sano Toyofusa, 
 a pupil of Kano Chikanobu. At first he painted in the Kano manner, 
 but afterward evolved a style of his own which was in some sort a 
 combination of Kano and Ukiyo-e. He is not known to have designed 
 any prints but he published a few picture books. He died in 1788. 
 
 520. RAT AND DAIKON. 
 
 Yokoye. Double page from a picture book. 
 
 KITAGAWA UTAMARO 
 
 The celebrated artist known as Utamaro was a son of Toriyama 
 Sekiyen. The young man whose personal name was Yusuke, studied 
 under his father and for a time used the signature Toriyama Toyoaki. 
 Following a quarrel with his father who was vexed by his dissolute 
 ways, he declared he would no longer disgrace the family name, 
 adopted that of Kitagawa, took the “go” of Utamaro, and is said to 
 have made his home for a time with the publisher Juzaburo whose 
 shop was known as Tsuta-ya. After a few early efforts in an un¬ 
 formed and rather nondescript style, like all the Ukiyoe artists of the 
 time, he imitated Kiyonaga, and for several years worked in his style. 
 Gradually however, he evolved the characteristic style which has 
 gained him world-wide fame. Though his life is said to have been 
 an irregular one, he managed, nevertheless, to produce an immense 
 volume of work of exceptional quality. He had a fertile brush and 
 his compositions are among the most striking and original works of 
 the school. In his day he was very popular and had many imitators. 
 This popularity continued after his death and led to the publication 
 of many prints by other artists to which the signature Utamaro was 
 
 — 113 — 
 
KITAGAWA UTAMARO 
 
 appended. In 1804 he designed a print which the Bafuku officials 
 took to be a reflection upon the conduct of the Shogun Iyenari, and 
 in consequence Utamaro was imprisoned for fifty days with his hands 
 tied. After his release he was overwhelmed with commissions, but 
 his health had given way during his confinement, a break down fol¬ 
 lowed, and he died on the third day of the fifth month of 1806 at thd 
 age of fifty-three. 
 
 521. SATO TADANOBU RESISTING ARREST. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Toyoaki ga. 
 
 This extremely rare print is one of Utamaro’s very earliest. The 
 subject is Sato 1 adanobu, one of the chief retainers of Yoshitsune, 
 slaying with a heavy go table (used for playing the game of go) a 
 soldier sent to capture him when his mistress had betrayed him to 
 Yoritomo. 
 
 522. THE GEISHA OCHIYE OF MATSU-YA SETTING 
 FORTH TO TAKE PART IN A NIWAKA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro. About 1778. 
 
 523. WOMEN AT A GARDEN PARTY. 
 
 Oban: One sheet of a diptych or triptych. Signed: Utamaro ga. 
 About 1780. 
 
 The influence of Shigemasa’s style is apparent. 
 
 524. TWO WOMEN AND A GIRL AT A BOAT LANDING. 
 
 Oban: Left-hand sheet of a diptych. Signed: Utamaro ga. About 
 1780. 
 
 525. WASHING DAY. 
 
 Oban diptych (two sheets of a triptych). Signed: Utamaro ga. 
 Publisher: Iwato-ya. About 1788. 
 
 526. THE AWABI SHELL DIVERS OF ISE. 
 
 Oban. Left-hand sheet of triptych. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. 
 
 527. A PALACE IN THE RYUKYU ISLANDS. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Utamaro ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. About 
 1790. 
 
 This is a fanciful composition, the costumes and other details 
 being a conglomeration of Chinese and Japanese styles. 
 
 114 — 
 
KITAGAWA UTAMARO 
 
 528. GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Kojin (the late) Suzuki Harunobu ga. Kitagawa 
 Utamaro utsusu (copied). Publisher: Morita-ya Jirobei. 
 
 This print is interesting because, though Utamaro declares it to 
 be a copy of a design by Harunobu, the coiffures and other details 
 are in the fashion of more than twenty years after Harunobu’s death. 
 
 529. HANA MURASAKI READING A BOOK. 
 
 Oban. Series: Seiro Setsu-Getsu-Ka. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. 
 Publisher: Murata-ya. About 1794. 
 
 The book is a ponderous work in thirty volumes. Hana Murasaki 
 is looking at one volume and the other twenty-nine are held by a 
 woman standing at her side. 
 
 530. THE HOUR OF THE SNAKE (SEVEN TO NINE 
 O’CLOCK A. M.) 
 
 Oban. Series: Seiro Ju-ni toki Tsuzuki (The twelve hours of the 
 day in the Green Houses). About 1794. 
 
 531- A KAGURA DANCER AND A FLUTE PLAYER. 
 
 Oban. Series: Fuzoku Bijin Tokei. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. 
 Publisher: Izumi-ya. About 1794. 
 
 532. PROCESSION OF THE KOREAN AMBASSADOR 
 BURLESQUED BY THE WOMEN OF THE YOSHI- 
 WARA. 
 
 Oban heptatych. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Yama- 
 guchi-ya Tobei. About 1794. 
 
 The niwaka or festival processions in the streets of the Yoshiwara 
 were often very elaborate affairs, large sums, contributed by the 
 frequenters of the district, being spent upon the costumes and acces¬ 
 sories. The niwaka in which the procession of the Korean ambassador 
 and his suite was burlesqued was especially noteworthy and was long 
 remembered for its unusual character and extravagance. 
 
 533. HEAD AND BUST OF HINAZU OF HEIZETSURO- 
 YA. 
 
 Oban. Series: Bijin Kiryo Kurabi. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. 
 Publisher: Takasu. About 1794. 
 
 534 - THE OIRAN WAKA-UME OF TAMA-YA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. About 1794. 
 
 — 115 — 
 
KITAGAAVA UTAMARO 
 
 535 - OKITA THE POPULAR WAITRESS OF THE NANI- 
 WA-YA TEA-HOUSE, CARRYING A BOWL OF TEA 
 ON A LACQUER TRAY. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. About 1794. 
 
 536. HALF-LENGTH PORTRAIT OF OHISA THE POP¬ 
 ULAR WAITRESS OF THE TAKASHIMA-YA TEA¬ 
 HOUSE. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. About 1794. 
 
 537. THREE NIWAKA PERFORMERS. 
 
 Oban. Series: Seiro Niwaka Onnageisha no bu. Signed: Utamaro 
 ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. About 1794. 
 
 538. THREE NIWAKA PERFORMERS. 
 
 Same series as the preceding. 
 
 539. “SEIRO SAN BIJIN.” 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. About 
 1794. 
 
 540. THE TENDER-HEARTED GIRL. 
 
 Oban. Series: Fujin Sogaku Jittai (Ten physiognomies of wom¬ 
 en). Signed: Soken (physiognomist) Utamaro. About 1794. 
 Inscription: “This style is gentle and tender-hearted as a willow 
 tree in the wind or as dock weed floating upon water.” 
 
 541. the kitchen. 
 
 Oban diptych. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Kamimura. 
 About 1795. 
 
 542. THE OIRAN TAKIGAWA SEATED AND BENDING 
 OVER TO READ A LETTER. 
 
 Oban. Series: Torii Zensei Bijin Soroi. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. 
 Publisher: Wakasa-ya. About 1796. 
 
 543 - THREE WOMEN UNDER A WISTARIA ARBOR. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Tsutaya. About 1796 . 
 Beautiful though this print undoubtedly is, in the use of brown 
 flock to represent in a realistic manner the texture of the rug thrown 
 over the bench upon which one of the women is seated, it shows a 
 leaning toward novelty for its own sake that is significant of decadence. 
 
 —11&— 
 
KITAGAWA UTAMARO 
 
 544. WOMAN LOOKING AT THE REFLECTION OF HER 
 FACE IN A MIRROR. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Yamamatsu. Dated: 
 
 1797. 
 
 At the top of the print is a square cartouche showing a boy dancing, 
 a sake bottle, some blazing fagots, and a huge snake. Other small 
 objects are introduced, the whole forming a conundrum or puzzle 
 picture. What is of especial interest is that the projecting tongue of 
 the snake forms the character “ku” (nine), thus indicating the snake 
 year, Kansei nine (1797). 
 
 TWELVE PRINTS FORMING THE SERIES “JOSHO- 
 KU KAISHO TEWAZAGUSA” (WOMAN’S WORK IN 
 SILKWORM CULTURE). 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Tsuru-ya Kiyeimon. 
 About 1797. 
 
 These prints are so designed that by joining them together they 
 can be made to form one picture. 
 
 545. BRUSHING THE NEWLY HATCHED WORMS 
 INTO TRAYS. 
 
 546. WOMEN GATHERING MULBERRY LEAVES. 
 
 547. CUTTING MULBERRY LEAVES AND FEEDING 
 THE YOUNG SILKWORMS. 
 
 548. SEPARATING THE GROWING WORMS, AND PUT¬ 
 TING FEWER IN A TRAY. 
 
 549. FEEDING THE WORMS WITH UNCUT LEAVES. 
 
 550. ARRANGING COCOONS UPON TRAYS. 
 
 551. WATCHING THE BUTTERFLIES LAY EGGS. 
 
 552. WATCHING THE BUTTERFLIES FLY ABOUT. 
 
 553. BOILING COCOONS AND REELING THE SILK. 
 
 —117— 
 
KITAGAWA UTAMARO 
 
 554 - WASHING AND DRYING THE RAW SILK. 
 
 555 - SPINNING THE YARN. 
 
 556. WEAVING THE SILK. 
 
 557 - THE LOVERS MUMEGAWA AND CHUBEI. 
 
 Oban. Series : Jitsu Kurabe Iro no Murakame. Signed : Utamaro, 
 hitsu. Publisher: Nishimura-ya. About 1797. 
 
 55S. THE SUZUHAKI, OR HOUSE-CLEANING BEFORE 
 NEW YEAR’S DAY. 
 
 Oban triptych (part of pentaptych). Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Yamada-ya. About 1797. 
 
 559 - PLEASURE BOATS UNDER RYOGOKU BRIDGE. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. Publisher: Omi-ya. 
 About 1798. * 
 
 This triptych is the lower half of a six-sheet composition. The 
 upper half shows a group of women on the bridge looking down over 
 the rail. 
 
 560. LARGE HEAD AND BUST OF A WOMAN HOLDING 
 A TRANSPARENT COMB. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro hitsu. Publisher: Omi-ya. About 1798 . 
 
 561. SAYONARA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro, hitsu. 
 
 562. WOMAN SEATED ON A VERANDA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Utamaro ga. 
 
 563. A FISHING PARTY ON THE SUMIDA RIVER AT 
 NIGHT. 
 
 About 1804 yCh ‘ Signed: Utamaro hitsu - No publisher’s mark. 
 
 —11s— 
 
TOSHUSAI SHARAKU 
 
 TOSHUSA1 SHARAKU 
 
 The eccentric artist who used the brush name of Toshusai 
 Sharaku was a dancer of the stately and aristocratic No, in the service 
 of Hachisuka, Daimyo of Awa. His true name was Saito Jirobei. 
 For a year or two only, about 1794 he designed the remarkable por¬ 
 traits of actors in character which are justly counted as among the 
 greatest achievements in all Ukiyoe. On first acquaintance with 
 these prints the brutal frankness of the conventions employed may be 
 repellant; nevertheless the treatment is extremely subtle, and it does 
 not take long to realize that these pungent, vital presentations are in 
 truth portraits and works of art such as only genius of a high order 
 could produce. 
 
 EIGHT PORTRAITS OF ACTORS. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Toshusai Sharaku ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. 
 About 1794. 
 
 564. ICHIKAWA EBIZO IN THE ROLE OF KO NO MO- 
 RONAO. 
 
 565. MATSUMOTO KOSHIRO AS THE OTOKODATE 
 BANZUIN CHOBEI. 
 
 566. ICHIKAWA YAOZO. 
 
 567. ARASHI TATSUZO. 
 
 568. OTANI TOKUJI AS AN OTOKODATE. 
 
 569. SAWAMURA SOJURO IN THE ROLE OF ENYA 
 HANGUWAN. 
 
 570. SAWAMURA SOJURO AND THE THIRD SEGAWA 
 KIKUNOJO. 
 
 571. OTANI TOKUJI AND ICHIKAWA OMEZO. 
 
 —119— 
 
TOSHUSAI SHARAKU 
 
 572. ICHIKAWA OMEZO AS A SAMURAI CARRYING AN 
 ODAWARA LANTERN. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Toshusai. No publisher’s mark. 
 
 573. SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN A FEMALE ROLE. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Toshusai Sharaku ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. 
 About 1794. 
 
 574. NAKAYAMA KUMETARO IN THE ROLE OF ONOE 
 IN THE DRAMA: “KAGAMIYAMA KIU NO 
 NISHIKIYE.” 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Toshusai Sharaku ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. 
 About 1794. 
 
 575. IWAI HANSHIRO AS A JUNREI-OSURU OR WOMAN 
 PILGRIM TO BUDDHIST SHRINES. 
 
 The tablets hung about her neck are the record of her journeying, 
 an additional one being added at each shrine visited. 
 
 UTAGAWA TOYOKUNI 
 
 In the later history of the Ukiyoe school no artist holds a more 
 prominent place than the first Toyokuni. In his day he had immense 
 vogue, and he was indeed an artist of much ability, but in addition to 
 being carried along on the ebb-tide of the decadence that was in full 
 movement during the closing years of the eighteenth century the 
 great popularity of his prints led to the publication of works upon 
 which comparatively little time was expended, and to a gradual but 
 steady deterioration in their artistic qualities. His early works in 
 which the influence of Kiyonaga and of Eishi may be traced are by 
 far his best. Many of them are very beautiful, charming in colour 
 and engraved and printed with great care. He was the originator of 
 a new style of actor prints, highly appreciated by the devotees of the 
 theatre for their realistic characterizations. Toyokuni’s personal name 
 was Gorobei Kumakichi. He was the son, born in 1769, of Gorobei 
 Kurashashi, a carver of wooden images, who lived in Edo, in the 
 quarter known as Shiba. He first studied under Utagawa Toyoharu 
 and afterward he became a pupil of Utagawa Toyoharu and still 
 later is said to have had Shunyei for a master. He died on the 7th 
 
 —120— 
 
UTAGAWA TOYOKUNI 
 
 of the first month of Bunsei 8 (February 24, 1825) and it is said that 
 when he was buried some 500 or 600 of his drawings were placed in 
 the grave with his body. A monument in the Temple of Koun at 
 Mita Hijirizaka was erected to his memory. 
 
 <576 SCENE FROM A DRAMA: ONOE MATSUSUKE AS 
 THE GHOST OF IWOHATA: MATSUMOTO 
 KOJIRO AS IYENUSHI MOKUEMON. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Toyokuni ga. Publisher’s mark not identified. 
 
 THREE PRINTS OF THE SERIES: YAKUSHA BUTAI 
 SUGATA. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Toykuni ga. Publisher: Izumi-ya. 
 
 577. THE ACTOR BANDO MITSUGORO AS A MAN 
 DRAWING A SWORD. 
 
 578. THE THIRD SEGAWA KIKUNOJO IN A FEMALE 
 ROLE. 
 
 579. IWAI HANSHIRO AS YAMATOYA. 
 
 580. A WINDY DAY UNDER THE CHERRY TREES. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Toykuni ga. Publisher: Izumi-ya. 
 
 581. SEVEN WOMEN IN A BAMBOO GROVE. 
 
 Oban triptych. Signed: Toyokuni ga. Publisher: \amada-ya. 
 
 KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI 
 
 Among all the artists of Japan none is more widely known than 
 Hokusai. His renown is world wide and his place among the im¬ 
 mortals universally conceded. To tell in the most compact form the 
 story of his life and to describe his work, which was of almost incon¬ 
 ceivable variety, would require a large volume. Here it seems neces- 
 
 —121— 
 
KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI 
 
 sary to state only that he was born in Edo in the gth month of the 
 ioth year of Horeki (1760) and was probably the son of a mirror 
 maker named Nakajima Issai. He was first employed in a book shop, 
 then for about ten years he worked at the art of wood engraving. At 
 the age of eighteen he became a pupil of Katsukawa Shunsho and his 
 earliest works were signed Shunro. This was the first of many 
 pseudonyms. He did not long remain in Shunsho’s studio, from which 
 it is said he was expelled for insubordination. He then entered upon 
 an independent career, studying the styles of many eminent artists, 
 ancient and modern, and drawing assiduously everything that he saw 
 or dreamed. After a life of extraordinary activity he passed away in 
 the spring of 1849 at the age of 89. 
 
 582. THE ACTOR ICHIKAWA OMEZO IN A FEMALE 
 ROLE. 
 
 Hosoe. Signed: Shunro ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. About 1794 . 
 
 An interesting early print in the style of Sharaku. 
 
 SIX PRINTS FORMING THE SIX FAMOUS POETS 
 SERIES. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Katsushika Hokusai ga. Publisher: Ezaki-ya. 
 
 583. BUNYA NO YASUHIDE. 
 
 584. OTOMO NO KURONUSHI. 
 
 585. ARIWARA NO NARIHIRA ASON. 
 
 586. SOJO HENJO. 
 
 587. ONO NO KOMACHI. 
 
 588. RISEN HOSHI. 
 
 589. TRAVELLERS ON A HIGHWAY BY THE SEA. 
 
 Yokoye. Surimono cut down. Not signed, but signature probably 
 cut off. 
 
KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI 
 
 590. VISITORS TO A TEMPLE TO INARI THE SO- 
 CALLED RICE GOD. 
 
 Long surimono. Signed: Sori ga. 
 
 591. TWO WOMEN AND A BOY CROSSING A FOOT¬ 
 BRIDGE LEADING TO A TEMPLE. 
 
 Long surimono. Not signed. Signature probably trimmed off at 
 the right. 
 
 592. WOMEN REELING COTTON IN A FIELD NEAR A 
 POND AT THE EDGE OF WHICH IRIS AND NADE- 
 SHIKO (A KIND OF PINK) ARE GROWING. 
 
 Long surimono. Signed: Hokusai ga. 
 
 593. NARIHIRA AND HIS ATTENDANTS HALTING 
 WHILE ONE OF HIS MEN CLIMBS A BLOSSOMING 
 PLUM TREE TO BREAK OFF A BRANCH. 
 
 Yokoye surimono. Signed: Sori Hokusai ga. 
 
 594. DYERS HANGING UP FRESHLY DIPPED COTTON 
 CLOTH TO DRY IN THE SUNSHINE. 
 
 Long surimono. Signed: Sori Gakyo-jin Hokusai ga. 
 
 595. GROUP AT THE ENTRANCE TO A SHINTO TEM¬ 
 PLE IN THE TIME OF THE CHERRY BLOSSOM¬ 
 ING. 
 
 Long surimono, cut down. Not signed. Signature probably trimmed 
 off. 
 
 596. THE FAMOUS SWORDSMITH MASAMUNE FORG¬ 
 ING A SWORD WITH THE AID OF A SUPER¬ 
 NATURAL VISITOR. 
 
 Long surimono. Signed: Gakyo-j in Hokusai ga. 
 
 597. WAYFARERS CROSSING A RIVER ON A FERRY 
 BOAT. 
 
 Long surimono. Signed : Katsushika Hokusai ga. 
 
 The man in the middle of the boat is a street vendor of dumplings. 
 The dumplings are carried by running sticks through them and then 
 sticking these in the cushion on the end of a bamboo pole. 
 
 —123— 
 
KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI 
 
 FOUR BIRD AND FLOWER PRINTS. 
 
 Chuban. Signed: Zen Hokusai Tameichi hitsu. Publisher: Eijudo. 
 
 598. BUNCHO AND MAGNOLIA. 
 
 599 - GROSBEAK AND MARVEL OF PERU. 
 
 600. KANARI AND SHAKUYAKU (A KIND OF PEONY). 
 
 601. BULLFINCH AND WEEPING CHERRY. 
 
 EIGHT PRINTS OF THE LARGE FLOWER SERIES. 
 
 Yokoye. Signed, except the eighth print which is without signa¬ 
 ture: Zen Hokusai Tameichi hitsu. Publisher: Eijudo. 
 
 602. CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND BEE. 
 
 603. PEONIES AND BUTTERFLY. 
 
 604. MORNING GLORIES AND TREE TOAD. 
 
 605. FUYO AND SPARROW. 
 
 606. ORANGE ORCHID. 
 
 607. ORIENTAL POPPIES. 
 
 608. LILIES. 
 
 609. POPPIES AND BUTTERFLY. 
 
 610. MANDARIN DUCK AND DRAKE. 
 
 Double page from the “Shashin Gafu,” published in 1814. Not 
 signed. 
 
 — 124 — 
 
KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI 
 
 THIRTY-SIX PRINTS OF THE SERIES “THIRTY- 
 SIX VIEWS OF FUJI.” 
 
 Yokoye. Signed: Zen Hokusai Tameichi hitsu. Publisher: Eijudo. 
 
 Originally this series consisted of thirty-six prints, but after the 
 series was completed ten supplementary prints were added. 
 
 611. VIEW FROM NIHON BASHI, EDO. 
 
 612. FUJI SEEN FROM HONGWANJI TEMPLE, ASA- 
 KUSA, EDO. 
 
 613. VIEW OF FUJI FROM TATEKAWA, HONJO, EDO. 
 
 614. VIEW FROM SHIMA MEGURO, EDO. 
 
 615. FUJI SEEN FROM THE MITSUI DRY-GOODS SHOP, 
 EDO. 
 
 616. RYOGOKU BRIDGE, EDO: FUJI IN THE DIS¬ 
 TANCE. 
 
 617. VIEW FROM EDO BAY OFF TSUKUDA ISLAND. 
 
 618. FUJI SEEN FROM THE HALL OF THE FIVE-HUN¬ 
 DRED RAKAN, EDO. 
 
 619. FUJI SEEN FROM SURUGA-DAI, EDO. 
 
 620. FUJI SEEN BENEATH MONNEN BRIDGE, EDO. 
 
 621. THROUGH THE WINDOW OF THE FUJI VIEW 
 TEA-HOUSE AT YOSHIDA. 
 
 622. VIEW FROM GOTENYAMA. 
 
 623. FUJI SEEN FROM KOISHIKAWA AFTER A SNOW 
 FALL. 
 
 624. FUJI SEEN FROM ENOSHIMA. 
 
 —125— 
 
KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI 
 
 625. VIEW OF FUJI FROM MISHIMA IN KAHI PROV¬ 
 INCE. 
 
 626. FROM THE MOUNTAINS IN THE PROVINCE OF 
 TOTOMI. 
 
 627. FUJI SEEN FROM HAKONE LAKE. 
 
 628. FUJI, FROM HODOGAYA ON THE TOKAIDO. 
 
 629. VIEW OF FUJI FROM HANAMACHI IN SENJU. 
 
 630. VIEW OF FUJI FROM THE SEA AT TAGO-NO-URA. 
 
 631. FUJI SEEN FROM THE OME PASS. 
 
 632. FROM SEVEN-RI BEACH IN SOSHU. 
 
 633. FROM LAKE SUWA IN SUNSHU. 
 
 634- FROM THE WATER MILL AT ONDA. 
 
 635. FROM NAKAHARA IN SOSHU. 
 
 636 KURA SEEN FR ° M A TEA planta TION AT KATA- 
 
 637. FROM UMEZAWA IN SOSHU. 
 
 638. THE ROUND PINE TREE AT AOYAMA: FUTI IN 
 THE DISTANCE. 
 
 639. FUJI SEEN BENEATH A TORII AT TODO-NU-URA. 
 
 640. VIEW OF FUJI FROM ONOSHINDEN. 
 
 641. FUJI SEEN FROM USHIBORI IN SUNSHU. 
 
 642. VIEW FROM SENJU, PROVINCE OF BUSHU. 
 
 —126— 
 
SHARAICU 
 
 No. 572. The actor Ichikawa Omezo 
 

 
KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI 
 
 643. VIEW OF FUJI FROM HODOGAYA. 
 
 644. FUJI SEEN BENEATH A WAVE OF THE SEA AT 
 KANAGAWA. 
 
 645. THE WHITE CAP OF FUJI: THUNDERSTORM 
 BELOW. 
 
 646. FUJI IN FAIR WEATHER WITH A GENTLE 
 BREEZE. 
 
 ANDO HIROSHIGE 
 
 The last great name in the history of the Ukiyo-e school is that of 
 Hiroshige, the consummate master of landscape art. His true name 
 was Ando Tokitaro. He was born in 1797, and at the age of fifteen, 
 having failed to get into the crowded studio of Toyokuni, he became 
 a pupil of Toyohiro. For the world this may be regarded as a fortu¬ 
 nate circumstance. From his master Toyohiro he obtained the name 
 Ichiyusai (profoundly deep). This when growing popularity made 
 his fame secure and gave him confidence in his power, he changed to 
 Ichiryusai (one standing alone). After a life full of activity he died 
 on the 6th day of the 9th month of Ansei 5 (1858) and was buried in 
 Togaku Temple, Shinteramachi, Asakusa, Yedo. He designed an 
 extraordinary number of prints, and many of these were issued in 
 successive editions until the blocks were entirely worn out. Ordinary 
 impressions are abundant, but choice early ones in fine condition are 
 very rare. 
 
 647. THE EBISU FETE AT THE VILLAGE OF IMAMIYA. 
 
 Yokoye. Series: Naniwa Meisho. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Pub¬ 
 lisher: Eisendo. 
 
 648. THE NIGHT BOAT ON THE YODO RIVER. 
 
 Yokoye. Series: Kyoto Meisho. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Pub¬ 
 lisher : Eisendo. 
 
 —127— 
 
ANDO HIROSHIGE 
 
 FOUR PRINTS FROM THE “SIXTY-NINE POST 
 STATIONS OF THE KISOKAIDO” SERIES. 
 
 Yokoye. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Iseri. 
 
 649. the inspection gate, fukushima station. 
 
 650. MIYANOKOSHI STATION; PEASANTS GOING 
 HOME BY MOONLIGHT. 
 
 Justly celebrated as one of Hiroshige’s masterpieces. 
 
 651. MOCHIZUKI STATION: MOONLIGHT VIEW. 
 
 652. SHIONADA STATION. 
 
 FOUR PRINTS OF THE “EDO KINKO HAKKEI” 
 SERIES. 
 
 Yokoye. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Sanoki. 
 
 653- HANEDA NO RAKU GAN (GEESE FLYING DOWN 
 AT HANEDA). 
 
 654- ASUKA YAMA NO BOSETSU (EVENING SNOW ON 
 ASUKA HILL). 
 
 655. TAMAGAWA AKI NO TSUKI (AUTUMN MOON 
 OVER THE TAMA RIVER). 
 
 656. AZUMASHI YORU AME (NIGHT RAIN AT AZU- 
 MASHI). 
 
 FIVE PRINTS OF THE “TOTO MEISHO” SERIES. 
 
 Yokoye. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Sanoki. 
 
 657. NIHON BASHI NO SHIRA SAME (WHITE RAIN AT 
 NIHON BRIDGE). 
 
 658. VIEW OF AKABANE, SHIBA, IN SNOW. 
 
 The long building at the right is an army barracks. 
 
 —128— 
 
ANDO HIROSHIGE 
 
 659. ASAKUSA, KINRYUSAN, TOSHI NO-ICHI GUN-JU 
 (THE YEARLY FESTIVAL BEFORE NEW YEARS, 
 AT KINRYUSAN TEMPLE). 
 
 660. OJI INARI NO YASHIRO (THE SHINTO SHRINE 
 TO INARI AT OJI). 
 
 661. MEGURO FUDO MO-ODE (FUDO TEMPLE AT 
 MEGURO). 
 
 662. YUMI HARI NO TSUKI (THE BOW-SHAPED 
 MOON). 
 
 Narrow Oban. Series: Twenty-eight moonlight views. Signed: 
 Hiroshige hitsu. 
 
 FIVE PRINTS FROM THE SERIES ‘“MEISHO EDO 
 HYAKKEI” (ONE HUNDRED EDO VIEWS). 
 
 Oban. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Teikichiji. 
 
 663. ASUKA YAMA, KITA NO CHOBO. 
 
 Distant view to the north from Asuka hill. 
 
 664. SUMIDAGAWA SUISHIN NO MORI. 
 The woods of Suishin on the Sumida river. 
 
 665. YOSHIWARA NIHON ZUTSUMI. 
 
 The road to the Yoshiwara along the embankment of the Sumida 
 river. 
 
 666. MAMA NO KOYO, KOTENA NO YASHIRO, TSUGI 
 HASHI. 
 
 Maple leaves at Mama, Kotena temple, and Tsugi bridge. 
 
 667. MEGURO TAIKO BASHI YUKI NO KEI. 
 
 Sunset view of Taiko bridge in snow. 
 
 FIVE PRINTS FROM THE SO-CALLED “UPRIGHT 
 TOKAIDO” SERIES. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. 
 
 —129— 
 
ANDO HIROSHIGE 
 
 668. HODOGAYA STATION. 
 
 669. YOKAICHI NAKO NO URA MIYEGAWA. 
 Yokaichi station, the river Miye, and view of the sea. 
 
 670. SHONO SHIRA-TORI-ZUKA KO SEKI. 
 
 The Shira-tori-zuka old trail at Shono. 
 
 671. KAMEYAMA STATION. 
 
 672. SEKI SAN GU MICHI OI WAKE. 
 
 The branch road leading to the Shinto temple at Seki. 
 
 TWO PRINTS FROM THE SERIES “ROKU-JU-YO 
 SHU MEISHO ZU KAI” (VIEWS IN THE SIXTY- 
 ODD PROVINCES). 
 
 Oban. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Publisher: Koshimura Heisuke. 
 
 673. TSUSHIMA KAI GAN YUBARI. 
 
 Rainbow at Kai beach, Tsushima. 
 
 674. YAMATO TATSUTA-YAMA TATSUTA-GAWA. 
 Mount Tatsuta and the Tatsuta river in Yamato Province. 
 
 THREE PRINTS FROM THE “THIRTY-SIX VIEWS 
 OF FUJI” SERIES. 
 
 Oban. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. 
 
 675. FUJI SEEN FROM KOSHIGAYA IN MUSHASHI. 
 
 676. VIEW OF FUJI FROM YOSHIWARA ON THE 
 TOKAIDO. 
 
 677- FUJI SEEN FROM MIHO NO MATSUBARA IN 
 SURUGA. 
 
 —130— 
 
ANDO HIROSHIGE 
 
 THREE PRINTS OF THE SERIES 
 “SURIMONO EDO MEISHO.” 
 
 Long surimono. Signed: Hiroshige ga. 
 
 The prints of this series are the rarest and 
 Hiroshige’s works. 
 
 678. TAKEDA BABA. 
 
 The horse race-track at Takada. 
 
 679. GOTENYAMA NO ZU. 
 
 Picture of Gotenyama. 
 
 680. HAGI DERA. 
 
 Garden famed for its hagi (lespedeza) flowers. 
 
 KNOWN AS THE 
 most highly prized of 
 
 THIRTEEN BIRD AND FLOWER PRINTS. 
 
 681. WHITE EGRET AND BULLRUSHES. 
 
 Narrow panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Publisher: Kawaguchi 
 Shozo. 
 
 682. KINGFISHER AND IRIS. 
 
 Narrow panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Publisher: Kawaguchi 
 Shozo. 
 
 683. QUAIL AND POPPIES. 
 
 Narrow panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Publisher: Kawaguchi 
 Shozo. 
 
 684. SWALLOWS AND WILD CHERRY. 
 
 Narrow panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Publisher: Kawaguchi 
 Shozo. 
 
 685. SWALLOWS AND WISTARIA. 
 
 Narrow panel. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Tsuta-ya. 
 
 686. FALCON, PINE AND RISING SUN. 
 
 Wide panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. 
 
 —131— 
 
ANDO HIROSHIGE 
 
 687. USO AND CAMELLIA. 
 
 Wide panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. 
 
 688. SWALLOWS, PEACH BLOSSOMS AND MOON. 
 
 Wide panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. 
 
 689. PHEASANT AND YOUNG PINES ON A STEEP 
 HILLSIDE. 
 
 Wide panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. 
 
 690. BIRD AND WILD CHERRY. 
 
 Wide panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Publisher: Wakasa-ya. 
 
 691. TWO BIRDS AND AUTUMN MAPLE. 
 
 Yokoye. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Publisher: Sanoki. 
 
 692. SWALLOWS AND CAMELLIA IN SNOW. 
 
 Wide panel. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Second, and best edition. 
 Publisher: Sanoki. 
 
 693. GEESE. 
 
 Long surimono. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. 
 
 694- THE SARUBASHI (MONKEY BRIDGE) IN THE 
 PROVINCE OF KOSHU. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Signed: Hiroshige hitsu. Stamp: Ichiryusai. Pub¬ 
 lisher : Tsuta-ya. 
 
 KEISAI EISEN 
 
 Ikeda Zenjiro Yoshinobu, whose artist name was Keisai Eisen, 
 was born in Yedo in 1791 and died in 1848. He was one of the 
 leading artists of his day. Of his works, which, in subject, cover a 
 wide range, the landscapes, after the manner of Hiroshige, are the 
 most notable. 
 
 695- LANDSCAPE. 
 
 Kakemono-ye. Signed: Keisai. Publisher: Eikyudo. 
 
 132— 
 
UTAGAWA KUNISADA 
 
 UTAGAWA KUNISADA 
 
 Kunisada was one of the best of Toyokuni’s pupils and in 1844 
 he took the name of Toyokuni the second. What Kunisada might have 
 done had he been born fifty years earlier than the time when he came 
 into the world can only be conjectured. He was a man of ability but 
 it was his lot to live in a period when popular taste was at its lowest 
 and after his earliest years he rarely attempted anything but the veriest 
 pot-boilers. The print here exhibited shows the result of one of these 
 rare attempts at something better. 
 
 696. MOMIJI GARI NO ZU (PICTURE OF MAPLE TREE 
 VIEWING). 
 
 Yokoye. Signed: Kochoro Kunisada ga. Publisher: Yamaguchi- 
 ya. 
 
 — 133 —