JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN KYOTO

Lot 00592
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Utagawa Hiroshige

THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN KYOTO

Period: 1840-42
Condition: good
Size: 21 x 15,5 cm

SOLD

Tomorrow never comes. / I took a trip and crossed with joy / the fifty-three stations. / Today I admire the sky / of the imperial capital (おみひ立 / さい先よしと / いそ五十路 / こえてみやこを / けふみつの空). The words of the kyoka (狂歌) poem by Kosuitei Miyako (紅翠亭都子), written in the lower right corner of the work, accompany this depiction of the Kyoto Imperial Palace made between 1840 and 1842 by the artist Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重).

This precious woodblock print is entitled "The Inner Palace in the Capital" (京内裏) and is the final panel (大尾) of the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road" (東海道五拾三次) also known as the "Kyoka Tokaido" (狂歌入東海道) due to the presence, in fact, of poetic compositions combined with the stations of the famous route.

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), produced by the publisher Sanoya Kihei (佐野屋喜兵衛), owner of Kikakudo (喜鶴堂), despite the right signs of aging, is in overall good condition.

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