Show Us Your print

[raaay]

Malcolm 

 

see what you have  started ,     these are by Koson / Choson ,

 

i think he singed with both names ? cropped  the prints because the frames and mounts all need some TLC.

 

     

[Guest]

Good afternoon Ray,

 

From the Left:

 

Ohara Koson 1877 - 1945

 

Two Egrets at Night

 

c.1910

 

Middle:
 

Ohara Koson 1877 - 1945

 

Two Pheasants in the Snow

 

Pre. 1923

 

As for the one of Mandarin Ducks on the right, it has the same signature and seal "Koson" within cartouche as the others, but I cannot find an example.

 

Perhaps Pietro might know a little more, as both Watanabe Shosaburo and Kawaguchi & Sakai issued prints, however they have different red seals.

 

[b.hennick]

Here is a tryptic that I have had for over 25 years. Samurai in Self-isolation.

 

[Guest]

Hi Barry,

 

I'm going to make a rash call of Kobayashi Kiyochika.

 

Now I will delve into the books and make an absolute arse of myself.

 

Stay Safe

 

[Guest]

What is the Special Air Service motto?

 

Who cares who wins?

 

Or

 

"He who dares Rodney"

 

Barry, your triptych is indeed by Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1847 - 1915, it depicts Taira no Tadanori seated beneath a cherry tree.

 

The poem at the side says:

 

Were, I still travellling as night falls

to make a sheltering tree my Inn

then would my host tonight

be the blossoms themselves?

 

Great image, thank you for sharing, tastefully presented as well.

 

 

Would 七転び八起き strike a resonance, given the figures surrounding the print....?

 

Sorry mate, couldn't resist the pun.

 

[PietroParis]

As for the one of Mandarin Ducks on the right, it has the same signature and seal "Koson" within cartouche as the others, but I cannot find an example.

 

Perhaps Pietro might know a little more, as both Watanabe Shosaburo and Kawaguchi & Sakai issued prints, however they have different red seals.

 

 

I hope I have not given the impression that I claim some special erudition on Shin Hanga. In fact, I am just efficient with google searches...

 

Anyway, I have found this one.

 

Cheers, Pietro

 

P.S. I guess there is a misprint in the linked page, the name of the publisher should be Daikokuya.

[RichardP]

Another Kobayashi Kiyochika—

My understanding is that this portrays the last moments of Hosokawa Gracia, after it has become clear that all was lost and she would soon be in the clutches of Ishida Mitsunari (her husband, Hosokawa Tadaoki, was off on campaign with Tokugawa Ieyasu).

I believe the official version of her death is that her newly-adopted Catholicism—with its prohibition on suicide—prevented her from taking her own life, so she asked her retainers to be the ones to kill her, then to burn the place down and kill themselves. (Apparently a Jesuit witness left a more cynical account, stating that it was her husband, on his way out the door to join the fighting, who took the retainers aside and instructed them that if all appeared lost, they were to kill his wife, kill themselves, and burn the place down.)

I really like this very different version that is (I think!) being portrayed by Kiyochika:

The lady sits with a sash tied about her knees to maintain decorum in her death throes, having just finished her death poem. A dagger lies on a table next to her. Her retainers stand guard in the foreground, but it is the lady herself who will be taking her own life, by her own hand.

Not sure if this is what Kiyochika is actually communicating—seems kind of subversive, right? Been meaning to retain Mr. Sesko’s services and have translations done...

(This is mounted, but I had them use museum glass and acid-free paper, and it doesn’t see sunlight.)

[b.hennick]

Thanks for the information. Here is another small print 16 cm X 10.5 cm

 

[Gunome]

Hello,

 

Here are my prints.

The fuji san from Kaiseki is one of my favorite.

[Bugyotsuji]

http://www.the-noh.com/en/plays/data/program_072.html

 

For Barry several post above, re Tadanori.

 

(I fell asleep and missed a raft of posts! Aaaarrrggghhhh.... but what a fine gallery this thread has become.)

[Guest]

Good morning Barry,

 

Thank you for posting the small print.

 

The dimensions of 16cm x 10.5cm do not correspond with the standard range of single print sizes.

 

This points to the double printing of two images or blocks of text as would be folded and edge stitched into a book form of the size known as Kobon 小本 .

 

This form of folding was referred to as Fukuro Toji (Bound pocket or pouch binding).

 

Futurelearn have a free course called "Japanese Culture Through Rare Books, set up by Keio University and hosted by Professor Sasaki & Assistant Professor Ichinohe

 

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/Japanese-rare-books-culture/0/steps/17244

 

The entire course is well worth subscribing to.

 

One important point to note, is that he is not wearing gloves.

 

The method adopted by Keio University for rare manuscripts is to remove rings etc and wash hands thoroughly to de - grease the fingertips, before touching manuscripts.

 

Their opinion is that more damage has been done by wearing gloves, which reduce tactile sensitivity and do more harm to the precious fibres.

 

Here's a link to the full course which lasts 9 hours over three weeks:

 

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/Japanese-rare-books-culture

 

[raaay]

Malcolm 

 

i hope you do not mind some more prints, some of them not in the best condition.   

 

   -Kuniyoshi     Kunisada  

 

 

 

-Kunisada    -Yoshitoshi      - Toyakuni

 

 

 

-Kyonaga ?    

 

 

[Guest]

Hi Ray, 

 

Without wishing to monopolise the Topic, here is my favourite from the prints you have posted above:

 

Yoshitoshi, it is from the series  "Mirror of Famous Generals of Japan" Dai Nippon Meishou Kagami 大日本名将鑑  which was printed between 1876 and 1882

 

Your print depicts Empress Jingo and Takeshiuchi no Sukune fishing at Chikuzen. (Printed 1876)

 

Here's the entire series from the excellent Yoshitoshi.net a veritable catalogue raisonne created by J. Noel Chiappa and Jason M. Levine:

 

http://www.yoshitoshi.net/series/generals.html

 

 

[raaay]

Malcolm 

 

     

[Bugyotsuji]

Fuzzy shots, but I love all of them. So many fascinating details.

[raaay]

Piers,

 

 

all acquired  at  antique fairs and auctions in  Scotland 

[SteveM]

And just to fill out the blank spots, Ray the last two pieces on your post #102 are:

 

Kiyonaga, as you mentioned

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii_Kiyonaga

c.1784 

https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/268825/3

 

and 

Eizan 英山

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikukawa_Eizan

c1810 according to the below

https://ja.ukiyo-e.org/image/chazen/1980_673

[SteveM]

The image of the lone woman holding a lantern in Sebastien's post is fabulous. The signature is Hiroshige, but I haven't found any details about it. 

[Guest]

Good morning Steve,

 

The image is somewhat enigmatic, I agree fabulous, but nonetheless enigmatic.

 

We have a signature Hiroshige, but which one, repurposed by whom, and when?

 

I think we are dealing with a 20th century image.

 

The compostion and execution is really crisp, look at the way her geta have been rendered in comparison to what we have below.

 

Perhaps the term should be "Homage" to Hiroshige, or images based upon a theme.

 

https://www.fujiarts.com/cgi-bin/item.pl?item=820914

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

The tree line is different, the furoshiki/handkerchief\yukata is patterned, and it says 泉 on her lantern in the first print.

[SteveM]

Wow - I was going to say how much it resembled one of the "Night Scenes"....!

[Guest]

Hi Piers,

Check out the first link to the image from fujiarts.

I think that may be the source of Sebastien’s image inspiration.

However, look really closely, it looks like a different hand involved.

I reckon a bit more research into the Shima Art Company is warranted.

 

http://shotei.com/publishers/shima/history.htm

Fascinating.
 

[Bugyotsuji]

What a read!!! 

[PietroParis]

Wow - I was going to say how much it resembled one of the "Night Scenes"....!

 

Some info on that series is here.

[Bugyotsuji]

Many years ago I bought an antique at an outdoor fair, took it home, and discovered that the wrapping paper used was actually two Hiroshige ukiyoe prints stuck to several sheets of old paper backing. I tried to remove as many old sheets as possible, which I used for repairs elsewhere, but could not get the last two or three off. The prints themselves were in terrible condition but carefully I cleansed them as far as possible, following a documentary I had watched from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

 

To get to the point, (apologies Malcolm), one of them was the entrance to the Yoshiwara at night. As I cleaned, figures in the murky background gradually became visible.

[Guest]

Excellent find Pietro 

 

Piers, was it one of these?

 

https://ukiyo-e.org/image/mfa/sc206379

 

https://ukiyo-e.org/image/chazen/1984_892

 

https://ukiyo-e.org/image/bm/AN00535144_001_l

 

https://ukiyo-e.org/image/etm/0189210065

[nektoalex]

Piers romantically, appeared from nowhere, like the signs of disappeared centuries ...

[Gunome]

Thanks for the info on my print. It is signed Hiroshige.

I did some research some years ago about it as far as I remember it could be attributed to a later Hiroshige generation: 4th.

Here 2 others prints for comparison

[Bugyotsuji]

Thanks Malcolm, but since posting above I have been unable to find an example of it, and dang, I knew you would be searching. Thanks for your four examples, though.I will keep looking. It was something like Edo Meisho 24 or 36 zu, perhaps, but I would need to find a photo buried in a camera memory stick, since lockdown has us parted. Everyone, please ignore me, and continue the happy postings! 

[Bazza]

Though not a print collector I have always liked them and am immensely enjoying this thread.  However, 55 years or so ago, in my early days of buying anything associated with swords and the samurai, I bought the print herewith.  I have never researched it, but the mie shown in both characters indicates something very serious is going on.  I always though the lower figure was a sword polisher who had somehow offended a customer who was about to take a terrible revenge.  All these decades later I wonder what the cognoscente can tell us about it.

 

With thanks,

BaZZa.