JAPANESE ART > UKIYO-E WOODBLOCK PRINTS > WISTERIA LEAVES

Lot 00945
N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print

Kikukawa Eizan

WISTERIA LEAVES

Period: 1820s
Condition: good
Size: 23 x 35 cm

SOLD

Important original woodblock print of vertical large oban (大判) format made in the 1820s by the artist Kikukawa Eizan (菊川英山), taken from the series "Fashionable Comparisons of Genji Fans" (風流源氏扇合) and dedicated to the thirty-third chapter, "Wisteria Leaves" (ふちの裏葉), of "The Tale of Genji" (源氏物語).

On the left of the work we read the lines of a waka (和歌) poem taken from the poetry anthology Gosen Wakashu (後撰和歌集): «Rays of the spring sun / catch the last leaves on the vine tips / of wisteria: / caught up in the glow of melting words, / I'll trust in your true love» (春日さす / 藤のうらはの / うちとけて / 君しおもわは / われもたのまん).

The rare print, produced by the publisher Matsumura Tatsuemon (松村辰右衛門), despite the right signs of aging as well as the presence of slight fold marks and small restorations on the margins, is in overall good condition.

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