Posts by Richard Kruml:
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
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A triptych showing carp swimming beneath wisteria. A rare and extremely unusual subject in Yoshitoshi’s canon of work. Koi are symbols of love and friendship in Japan. The breeding of ornamental carp began in the 1820s. The outside world was unaware of the advances in breeding colour variations until an annual exposition in Tokyo in 1914. Published by Akiyama Buemon, 1889. There is an original drawing, most likely for this triptych, elsewhere on this site. A much sought after design.
Very fine impression. Fine colour. Completely untrimmed with the extra margins around. Fine condition. Signed Yoshitoshi ga.
Status: Available
Keisai EISEN (1790-1848)
Click here to view image full size. A carp swimming among water-weed. The moon’s reflection in the blue water. There are various editions of this design: without the moon’s reflection; with and without the censor seal; with and without publisher’s seal; with and without currents in the water. Published by Ezakiya, c. 1843-6. Rare. […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. 2 vols. complete: Kanjaku tsuizen hanashidori, “The Liberated Birds: A Memorial Book for Kanjaku.” A memorial book for the actor Nakamura Utaemon who died in 1852. He had the literary name of Kanjaku, meaning ”playing with sparrows” and the covers and many illustrations allude to this custom of […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Hokusai’s interpretation of a poem by Onakatomi no Yoshinobu Ason (921-991). From an unfinished set: Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, “Pictures of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse.” The poems are from an anthology Hyakunin isshu, “One Hundred People, One Poem Each” compiled […]
Suzuki HARUNOBU (1724-1770)
Click here to view image full size. Two volumes complete: Ehon haru no nishiki, “Picture Book: The Brocades of Spring.” Vol. 1: 1 page preface dated Kanoto U (1770); single page and 8 double page colour prints. Vol. 2: 1 single page and 8 double page colour prints. 1 page colophon with date, publisher, block-cutter […]
Utagawa YOSHIHARU (1828-1888)
Click here to view image full size. Shows Hakujisso Hakusho (Chin. Bai Sheng) subduing a giant bird with a bamboo pole. From a set Suikoden goketsu kagami, “Mirror of Heroes of the Suikoden” published by Yamaguchiya Tobei, 1856. This is the first edition with gradation on the bird’s beak and elsewhere and the signature cartouche […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Station Suhara from Kisokaido rokujukyu tsugi no uchi, “Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido” published by Kinjudo, 1834-1842. The road known as the Nakasendo, “central mountain route,” as opposed to the Tokaido which was the “eastern sea route” was started with Keisai Eisen and finished by Hiroshige who designed […]
Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)
Click here to view image full size. A large original painting, full colour on silk, image size 48 x 21.75 in; 122 x 55.25 cms. A draughtsman of great dexterity with a wild, often bizzare , imagination. Loved sake, sometimes painting under its influence. At an early stage studied under Kuniyoshi, then Maemura Towa and […]
Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831-1889)
Click here to view image full size. A fine original Kyosai painting, full colour on silk, 47.5 x 16.5 in; 121 x 42 cms. Shows Emma, the King of Hell, walking with and holding an umbrella above a courtesan while a ghoulish oni looks on wearing a costume of gunnera leaves. Emma-O is the Japanese […]
Taiso YOSHITOSHI (1839 – 1892)
Click here to view image full size. Watanabe no Tsuna on horseback in the rain. One of the finest designs from Wakan hyaku monogatari. Published by Daikin, 1865/2. Fine impression and colour. Minor wormage otherwise very good condition. Signed Ikkaisai Yoshitoshi ga. Status: Available
Kitagawa UTAMARO (1753-1806)
Click here to view image full size. A scene taken from the Chinese 14th century heroic novel San guo zhi yanyi, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” attributed to Luo Guanzhong. Shows in the centre Liu Bei (Jap. Ryubei), the founder of the Kingdom of Shu, and the two warriors, Guan Yu (Kan U) on the […]
Taiso YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych showing an exploding land-mine throwing bodies and horses into the ether. Taiheiki Masakiyo nansen no zu, “Masakiyo’s Difficult Battle from the Taiheiki.” Figures identified in the print are the 14th century warriors Sato Shukei no Kami Masakiyo and Shimura Masazo Katsutoyo, but by way of avoiding […]
Katsukawa SHUNJO (?-1787)
Click here to view image full size. An hosoban showing the actor Onoe Matsusuke I in a Shibaraku role holding a lantern. (Possibly as Sakata no Kintoki). Shunjo was a pupil of Katsukawa Shunsho. Published c 1780. Fine impression. Very fine colour and condition. Signed Shunjo ga. Status: Available
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. The actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Arajishi Otokonosuke from a set Mitate sanjurokkasen no uchi, “An Imaginary Thirty-six Poets.” A famous early compilation; in this case the image is inspired by a poem of Mibu no Tadamine. Otokonosuke is usually depicted about to strike his adversary Nikki Danjo […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych of a probably imaginary performance showing the actor Ichimura Uzaemon XII as Hachiman Taro Yoshiie (far left) with an actor dressed as a lion who shines a strong beam from a lantern across the other two sheets; the centre one showing the actor Ichikawa Danjuro III […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE II (1829-1869)
Click here to view image full size. Nikko Shimofuri no taki, “Shimofuri Waterfall in Nikko” from Shokoku meisho hyakkei, “Hundred Views of Famous Places in the Provinces.” An uncompleted set of 81 prints published by Uoya Eikichi between 1859-1861 (this being 1859). Fine impression, colour and condition. Signed Hiroshige ga. Status: […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Spring moon at the shore of Tsukudajima . One of a set of chu-tanzaku prints published by Shogendo, c. 1837. Tsukudajima was one of two islands at the mouth of the Sumida River. Originally a sanbar, it was reclaimed with earth and rocks and given its name by […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Tokaido hidari Fuji, “Fuji Seen from the left on the Tokaido [Road]” from Fuji sanjurokkei, “Thirty-six Views of Fuji” published by Tsutaya Kichizo, 1858. Shows travellers on the Tokaido Road at Oiso with workers in rice paddies beyond. Fine early impression and colour with the red […]
Totoya HOKKEI (1780-1850)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting by Hokkei, full colour on silk, 41.5 x 19.25 in; 105.5 x 49 cms. Hokkei was one of the earliest and best pupils of Hokusai. Probably best known for his large output of surimono, but also produced illustrated books and paintings. Shows a beauty fulling […]
Toyohara KUNICHIKA (1835-1900)
Click here to view image full size. A cho-oban (20 x 6.75 inches) print showing beauties fishing. The top figure has caught a crayfish. Each design interprets a haiku poem in red, top right. A set of 6 prints published by Matsui Eikichi, 1893. Rare. Fine impression and colour. Slight creasing, otherwise fine […]
Kikugawa EIZAN (1787-1867)
Click here to view image full size. An aiban print showing the courtesan Segawa of the Matsubaya drinking ayamezake (a sake soaked with iris root) from a set Seiro gosekku, “Beauties of the Yoshiwara Compared to the Five Festivals.” In this case the Boys’ Festival held on the 5th May. Published by Iseya Soemon, c […]
Utagawa KUNISADA (1786-1865)
Click here to view image full size. An untitled triptych showing two beauties and a maidservant lighting their way with a lantern and carrying a shamisen box. The beam of light from the lantern illuminates the foreground figures and a leaping dog but leaves the background figures in silhouette. Published by Mikawaya Seimon, c. mid […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Horikiri no hana shobu, “Iris Garden at Horikiri” from Meisho Edo hyakkei, “Hundred Famous Views of Edo.” Published by Uoya Eikichi, 1856-58 (this being 1857). Horikiri village on the Arakawa River, north of Edo, was famous for growing irises, chrysanthemums, morning glory and azaleas for the Edo market. […]
Watanabe SEITEI (SHOTEI) (1851-1918)
Click here to view image full size. A large original painting, full colour on silk. Image size 47.25 x 20 in; 120 x 51 cms. Shows Japanese water iris with water striders. Seitei is best known as a kachoga (“bird and flower”) artist. He was technically brilliant showing realistic detail in a Japanese style but […]
Watanabe SEITEI (SHOTEI) (1851-1918)
Click here to view image full size. A large original painting, full colour on silk. Image size 47.25 x 20 in; 120 x 51 cms. Shows Japanese water iris with a snail. Seitei is best known as a kachoga (“bird and flower”) artist. He was technically brilliant showing realistic detail in a Japanese style but […]
Hosoda EISHI (1756-1829)
Click here to view image full size. Two beauties examining tanzaku poetry cards from a set Ukiyo Genji hakkei, “Eight Views of Genji in the Floating World.” The designs stand alone but also form diptychs. This series compares scenes from the famous Tale of Genji novel written by the Lady Murasaki in the early 11th […]
Kikugawa EIZAN (1787-1867)
Click here to view image full size. An early complete 5-sheet (pentaptych) design being a mitate-e of a daimyo’s procession along Kugenuma beach with Enoshima island and Mt. Fuji in the background. Harugasumi hana iki retsu, “Journey in the Spring Mist.” The regional feudal lords (daimyo) were required every alternative year to travel to the […]
Katsukawa SHUNSHO (1726-1792)
Click here to view image full size. An hosoban showing the actor Nakamura Utaemon I as a samurai in nagabakama and kamishimo ceremonial dress as worn during the Muromachi period (1336-1392). He holds a fan and a globe. Shunsho was the pre-eminent exponent of the hosoban format. Published c 1770. Fine impression. Unusual […]
Okumura MASANOBU (1686-1764)
Click here to view image full size. One of the most influential and innovative print designers, publishers and painters. He is also credited with inventing the hashira-e as well as being the first to use multiple-block printing. A wide hashira-e (habahiro hashira-e, 24 x 6 in; 61 x 15 cms) showing the actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Chapter 32: Umegaye, “Plum brach” from an o-tanzaku set: Buyu nazorae Genji, “Heroic Comparisons for the Chapters of Genji.” Shows the Minamoto samurai Kajiwara Genda Kagesuye (1162-1200) fighting at Ikura-no-mori during the Genpai wars between the Taira and Minomoto clans. He has a plum branch stuck in his […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Saito Toshimoto nyudo Ryuhon in armour struggling with a Chinese brigand underwater. From the set Taiheiki yeiyuden, “Heroic Stories of the Taiheiki.” A history of the wars of the loyalist Nitta and Kusunoki families against the Ashikaga war-lords during the second quarter of the 14th century. But in […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Inuyama Dosetsu, one of the eight dog heroes, enveloped in a conflagration. The heroes represent a Confucian ideal or Buddhist regulation and meet various adversaries in the epic Nanso satomi hakkenden, “Biography of the Eight Dogs” written by Takizawa Bakin between 1814 and 1842. Dosetsu is gifted with […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the warrior Zhang Fei (Jap. Yokutoku) awaiting his rival Cao Cao on Changban bridge. Fei tricks his enemy into thinking he leads a vast army by dragging logs from a nearby forest causing a huge dust cloud. Cao Cao retreats. The story is from the Romance of […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows Tobosaku (who stole the Peaches of Immortality), Miura Daisuke Yoshiaki (Lord of Kinugasa castle), and the son of Urashima Taro (who saved the sea turtle and was carried to the Dragon King’s Palace) drinking wine. From the set Ikkai zuihitsu, “Essays by Yoshitoshi.” (Ikkai was an early […]
Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839-1892)
Click here to view image full size. Shows the bloodied western army commander, Shima Sakon, having severed the head of Sato Daihachi, which flies through the air at Horagatoge Pass. Sakon lead an army of his Lord Ishida Mitsunari against the future Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. From the set […]
Utagawa Toyokuni II (1777-1835)
Click here to view image full size. An aizuri-e (blue print) showing the courtesan Utagawa of Tamaya admiring a bowl of carnations. From a set Bijin awase published by Shimizu, c. late 1820s. These blue prints using the imported bero, Berlin blue (what we called Prussian blue), became popular during the 1820s to 1840s as […]
Suzuki HARUNOBU (1724-1770)
Click here to view image full size. A beauty standing beside a stream where wild chrysanthemums grow. A mitate-e (parody) of Kikujido, the Chrysanthemum Boy, who was the favourite of the Chinese Emperor Mu (c. 950 B.C.). However, because of court jealousy, he was banished but had his exile eased by the Emperor who gifted […]
Ryuryukyo SHINSAI (1764-1820)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and light colour on silk, 32 x 11 in; 81.3 x 28 csms. Shows three classes in Japanese society: Farmer’s wife, Priest and a Samurai, forced to shelter together at the entrance to a Shinto shrine from a sudden downpour of rain. Above, a […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Fuchu from The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido published by Marusei, Maruya Seijiro, 1847-52. Called the Reisho Tokaido because of the angular style of Kanji used. Travellers coming and going at the entrance to the station. One of the best designs from the set. Provenance: Ex Hayashi collection […]
Hishikawa MOROSHIGE (Fl. 1684-1704)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, sumi and full colour on paper, 24 x 12 in; 61 x 30.5 cms. Shows a beautiful youth (a wakashu) dressed as a girl with his attendant servant. These youths (identified as male by wearing a sword) were arbiters of trend-setting kimono design. They are […]