JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > THE WATER OF LONG LIFE

Lot 00441
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Utagawa Kunisada II, Utagawa Hiroshige II

THE WATER OF LONG LIFE

Year: 1859
Condition: good
Size: 25,5 x 37 cm

SOLD

Beautiful ukiyo-e (浮世絵) woodblock print depicting the third station of Chichibu Sanjuyonkasho (秩父三十四箇所), one of Japan's oldest pilgrimage routes, which wound through a complex of 34 sanctuaries linked by a single road. The place depicted is the Iwamotosan Josenji temple (岩本山常泉寺), famous for its "water of long life" (長命水) and for its stone komochi ishi (子持石), a sort of propitiatory amulet of female fertility.

The work was produced in 1859 by the publisher Yamadaya Shojiro (山田屋庄次郎) and is taken from the series "Miracles of Kannon" (観音霊験記). The lower part is signed by the artist Utagawa Kunisada II (二代目歌川国貞), the upper pane, instead, by Utagawa Hiroshige II (二代目歌川広重).

The print of vertical large oban (大判) format, despite some signs of wrinkling of the paper on the margins and small spots, is in good general condition.

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