The Genius Of Kawanabe Kyosai Antique Woodblock Print Samurai Hokusai Tattoo Art
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:43198022 | Region of Origin: Japan |
| Featured Refinements: Japanese Woodblock Print |
KAWANABE KYŌSAI (1831-1889)
A BOOKPLATE FROM THE SERIES “KYOSAI HYAKUZU”
Comic prints. n.p. [1866]
Woodblock print nishiki-e. Publisher: : Wakasaya Yoichi (Jakurindó). These prints were issued as part of the series Kyōsai hyakuzu (One Hundred Pictures by Kyosai) which consists of more than 200 depictions of popular proverbs.
Date of publication: likely c. 1880s (originally c. 1863-1866)
Series title: Kyōsai hyakuzu 狂斎百図 (One Hundred Pictures by Kyosai)...>Signature: ōju Seisei Kyōsai 応需惺々狂斎
Publisher: Ōkura Magobei - originally issued by Wakasaya Yoichi and then reprinted in book form by Ōkura Magobe
Format: koban [vertical yotsugiri (quarter ôban)]
Size: 7 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (18.4 x 12.1 cm)
Small, vividly colored prints by Kyosai, the last of the great Ukiyo-e masters. The subject of these comic prints is Japanese proverbs, of special interest to lovers of Japanese folklore: Otsu-e, kappa, Daruma dolls, monsters, divinity, blowfish, bathing customs, the Seven Gods of Luck, and Buddhist subjects. The series was planned to total one hundred, but it is not known how many were actually published.
CONDITION is generally good. Strikingly vivid! Most of the prints are slightly thumbed at the bottom margin. Some soiling. There are binding holes at the margins edge.
The Series
Source: Comic Genius: Kawanabe Kyōsai, Oikawa Shigeru, Clark Timothy and Forrer Matthi, Tokyo Shinbun, 1996, p. 206.
This print was issued as part of the series the Kyōsai hyakuzu 狂斎百図 (One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai) which consists of more than 200 pictorializations of proverbs and depictions of famous subjects unrelated to proverbs. The prints were published continuously from 1863 to 1866* by the publisher Wakasaya and the works were later reprinted in album form by the publisher Ōkura Magobei (Ōkuraya) in 1881 and 1886. The prints in this collection are likely from one of Ōkura Magobei's reprint editions, as they show evidence of having been removed from an album.
One hundred of the proverbs depicted in Kyōsai hyakuzu were translated into French in 1885 under the title Cent Proverbes Japonais by Francis Steenackers and Ueda Tokunosuke.
This print series was very popular, enhancing Kyōsai’s reputation and making a large profit for the publishers.
*1863-1866 are the most common publication dates provided for these prints, though the literature cites dates as early as 1862 for the first publication date and reprints of this series are still being made. The prints were first issued by publisher Wakasaya Yoichi (aka Jakurindō Yoichi) as single-sheet prints, sold in ten print packages in a decorative envelope. Ōkura Magobei (aka Yorozuya Magobei) re-published the prints in bound book/album form in the 1880s.
A BOOKPLATE FROM THE SERIES “KYOSAI HYAKUZU”
Comic prints. n.p. [1866]
Woodblock print nishiki-e. Publisher: : Wakasaya Yoichi (Jakurindó). These prints were issued as part of the series Kyōsai hyakuzu (One Hundred Pictures by Kyosai) which consists of more than 200 depictions of popular proverbs.
Date of publication: likely c. 1880s (originally c. 1863-1866)
Series title: Kyōsai hyakuzu 狂斎百図 (One Hundred Pictures by Kyosai)
Publisher: Ōkura Magobei - originally issued by Wakasaya Yoichi and then reprinted in book form by Ōkura Magobe
Format: koban [vertical yotsugiri (quarter ôban)]
Size: 7 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (18.4 x 12.1 cm)
Small, vividly colored prints by Kyosai, the last of the great Ukiyo-e masters. The subject of these comic prints is Japanese proverbs, of special interest to lovers of Japanese folklore: Otsu-e, kappa, Daruma dolls, monsters, divinity, blowfish, bathing customs, the Seven Gods of Luck, and Buddhist subjects. The series was planned to total one hundred, but it is not known how many were actually published.
CONDITION is generally good. Strikingly vivid! Most of the prints are slightly thumbed at the bottom margin. Some soiling. There are binding holes at the margins edge.
The Series
Source: Comic Genius: Kawanabe Kyōsai, Oikawa Shigeru, Clark Timothy and Forrer Matthi, Tokyo Shinbun, 1996, p. 206.
This print was issued as part of the series the Kyōsai hyakuzu 狂斎百図 (One Hundred Pictures by Kyōsai) which consists of more than 200 pictorializations of proverbs and depictions of famous subjects unrelated to proverbs. The prints were published continuously from 1863 to 1866* by the publisher Wakasaya and the works were later reprinted in album form by the publisher Ōkura Magobei (Ōkuraya) in 1881 and 1886. The prints in this collection are likely from one of Ōkura Magobei's reprint editions, as they show evidence of having been removed from an album.
One hundred of the proverbs depicted in Kyōsai hyakuzu were translated into French in 1885 under the title Cent Proverbes Japonais by Francis Steenackers and Ueda Tokunosuke.
This print series was very popular, enhancing Kyōsai’s reputation and making a large profit for the publishers.
*1863-1866 are the most common publication dates provided for these prints, though the literature cites dates as early as 1862 for the first publication date and reprints of this series are still being made. The prints were first issued by publisher Wakasaya Yoichi (aka Jakurindō Yoichi) as single-sheet prints, sold in ten print packages in a decorative envelope. Ōkura Magobei (aka Yorozuya Magobei) re-published the prints in bound book/album form in the 1880s.
