Description: vertical ōban; nishiki-e; kodomo-e; yūgi-e
Label Text: This print is signed at lower-right "Keisai Eisen ga" ('drawn by Keisai Eisen') and bears the publisher's seal of Tsutaya Kichizō of the firm Kōeidō. However, in "Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Compendium" (Hotei: 2011), Dr. Andreas Marks lists the series as having been published by Tsutaya Jūzaburō of the firm Kōshodō. Both publishers used seal designs that were very similar, the only notable difference being the dot between the leaves and the triple-peaked mountain, visible on this print (see Marks, p. 39–40, seals 03-002 and 03-004), and which Dr. Marks assigns to Tsutaya Kichizō.
The title of the print series appears at top-right within the black cartouche, while the title of this print can be found superimposed within the fan design. The landscape within the fan, as well as the choice of the sudden evening rainstorm as subject matter, are a reference to the famed and influential landscapes of Hiroshige, with whom he collaborated on a series of landscapes of the Kisokaidō around 1835. Eisen contributed 24 of the 46 designs. Another amusing aspect of this print is device, similar to a Western "Christmas Pyramid," that entrances the children: the heat of a candle causes the wooden blades to turn, animating the animals who re-enact the pilgrimage scene in the fan.
Tags: children; toys; play; landscapes; mountains; rain; clouds Link to share this object record: https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2005.360 |