浮世の花 - Sanders of Oxford

Publisher’s Seal: Sadaoka
School: Hokusai
Method: Woodblock surimono; hôsho-gami; embossed background; extensive
detailing in gold [rich brass] and silver [zinc-rich brass].
Format: Shikishiban
Dimensions: Each impression 8 x 7 1/2 inches
Code: BH163
I. Green cartouche, bright red detailing on fan. Some oxidation.
Price [Mounted]: £490
II. Gold cartouche, faded red detailing on fan. Some soiling and movement of colour.
Price [Mounted]: £450
The exquisitely elegant and iki [‘cool’] bijin depicted in the upper roundel is probably a
portrait of a geisha who was a particular favourite of the kyôka poet. This would seem to be
confirmed by the presence of a fanciful boat-shaped form of the character nao, the first kanji
of the poet’s name, Naonari Asa-no-ya, both on her fan and on the poetry slip to the right of
the composition. Naonari’s verse alludes to the central emblem of the auspicious kujaku or
peacock, a bird often invoked in New Year surimono. It reads 'Tori mo kite asobu hikage no
nagaki o ni kogane iro masu tama no hatsuharu' [‘The bird come and plays, and the jewelled
early spring gilds the long tails of the sunbeams]. Interestingly, there was also a well-known
poetic association between the peacock and the Shin Yoshiwara. At the end of the paddyfields
behind the quarter, there was situated an old row of houses known as the Kujakunagaya
(nagaya being a long building with several separate residences). From this rather
lowly spot, the brilliant spectacle of the pleasure quarters could be seen to great advantage ~
the spot thus being compared to the humble body of a peacock, with the dazzling splendour
of the Yoshiwara as its magnificent tail.
The two impressions of Bijin to kujaku in the exhibition demonstrate both the variations in
tone, colour and decoration possible within the small print run of the surimono, and the
problems of pigment experimentation in terms of long-term preservation.
19. Yanagawa Shigenobu (1786-1832)
Ume [Plum Blossom]
Series: Sanfukyûkaigô [Series of Three Ladies]
Date [Western]: ca. 1820s
Date [Japanese]: Bunsei era
Signature: Artist’s seal
Carver: Tani Seikô [?]
School: Hokusai
Method: Woodblock surimono
Format: Shikishiban
Condition: Fading and rubbing, otherwise good
Dimensions: 8 x 9 inches
Code: BH162
Price [Mounted]: £380
Shigenobu was a pupil of Hokusai, whose daughter he married, subsequently becoming
adopted into the family. After marital problems forced a separation, however, he returned to
his own family in Honjo Yanagawa. From the 1810s, he designed approximately thirty
surimono, mainly for the Tsuru-ren or ‘Crane Group’, and was active as an illustrator of
yomihon and kyôka poetry anthologies.
Two kyôka verses decorate this shunkyô [Spring Season] surimono, the first, by Senyôtei
Zenko, extols the beauty of the ume blossom. The bijin’s robes are decorated with various
botanical motifs, including irises and wisteria.