JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > SPRING RAIN

Lot 00889
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Utagawa Yoshiiku

SPRING RAIN

Year: 1869
Condition: good
Size: 24 x 35,5 cm

SOLD

It is spring and in the upper right inset there are the words of two haiku (俳句) poems that the courtesans Wakashiki (和歌式) and Kaoi (顔居) of the house of pleasure Hozuchiro (宝槌楼) composed, during a rainy day, observing a byobu (屏風) screen decorated with an illustration by the famous artist Hishikawa Moronobu (菱川師宣), depicting three wandering samurai and taken from the 1678 book entitled "A Guide to Love in the Yoshiwara" (吉原恋の道引).

The work is taken from the series "Thirty-six Selected Flowers in Full Bloom: Their Own Calligraphy" (全盛自筆三十六花撰), made by Utagawa Yoshiiku (歌川芳幾), and was produced in July 1869 by the publisher Yorozuya Magobei (万屋孫兵衛).

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging including slight stains and a horizontal central fold mark, is in overall good condition.

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