JAPANESE PRINTS

A MILLION QUESTIONS

TWO MILLION MYSTERIES

 

Ukiyo-e Prints

浮世絵版画

formerly Port Townsend, Washington

now Kansas City, Missouri

 

UTAGAWA TOYOKUNI III

三代歌川豊国

1786-1865

ACTOR: Ichikawa Kodanji IV (1812-66)

市川小団次

SUBJECT: 霜夜の星五郎 

PUBLISHER: Kagiya Shōjirō

鍵屋庄

DATE: 1863, 6th Month

Bunkyū 3

文久3

CARVER: Hori Ōta Tashichi

彫太田多七

SIZE: 14" x 9 7/8"

SIGNATURE: Shichi jūhassai Toyokuni hitsu

(From the brush of Toyokuni at 78 years of age)

$480.00

SOLD!

 

ABOUT THIS PRINT'S

PUBLISHER'S SEAL

 

As of now we are unable to corroborate absolutely that the publisher of the print on this page is Kagi-ya Shōjirō because we have yet to find another example of this particular seal. However, a very clever fellow, an expert and a scholar, who writes to us often noted that the top character is kagi (鍵) and the second is shō (庄). He also pointed out that Frank Turk in his The Prints of Japan lists a publisher by this name. But when we looked it up in our copy we saw that it illustrated a totally different seal, a logo devoid of characters. Yet we are confident that our correspondent is right and will go with this attribution until we learn otherwise.

 

 

     
   
     

 

There is an example of this print in the Tokyo National Library and another

one in that of Waseda University. There are 11 other prints in this series.

 

 

 

DATE SEAL:

1863, 6th Month

 

 

CARVER'S SEAL:

Hori Ōta Tashichi

 

 

 

 

PUBLISHER'S SEAL:

Kagiya Shōjirō

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARTIST'S SIGNATURE:

shichi jūhassai Toyokuni hitsu

 

 

 

 

 

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