About This Print
Kyōsai gives us two comic scenes and one image of an apricot tree in this harimaze print. Given the title Apricot in the Night in the the book Comic Genius: Kawanabe Kyōsai, the image on the right is done in the ichizuri (stone-rubbing) style and looks similar to the below image done by Hiroshige as part of a harimaze print from his 1853 series Cutouts for the Fifty-three Stations. The two comic scenes show us a drunken a folk dance and a napping scholar being teased by two courtesans hiding behind a curtain.
Detail from No. 2: Hodogaya, Totsuka, Fujisawa, Hiratsuka, Ōiso,
from the series Cutouts for the Fifty-three Stations (Gojūsan tsugi harimaze zue)
MFA, Boston RES.49.16Ō
The Series Kyōsai Manga
Source: Comic Genius: Kawanabe Kyōsai, Oikawa Shigeru, Clark Timothy and Forrer Matthi, Tokyo Shinbun, 1996, p. 32-33, 220-225.This series, which used "legitimate Kano school subjects as their themes" depicted in comic situations, made Kyōsai popular as an ukiyo-e artist. Oikawa Shigeru points out that what made Kyōsai stand out from other period artists who used Kano school themes, such as Hokusai, was his "ability to parody the actual Kano school works" in a "fresh new style" making him "the popular artist for comic prints."
At least ten prints are known to comprise this series and each single sheet includes several different subjects [harimaze-e] with each sheet including at least one comic scene. "This series continued to be printed in the middle of the Meiji period, and several different types of editions exist. At the time, these harimaze prints were cut into individual scenes and the small pieces were used to repair the holes in paper sliding doors and screens. Kyōsai’s humorous scenes were thus enjoyed in the everyday lives of the Japanese people."
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1524 | |||
| Title or Description | Apricot in the Night, Nap, Dance of the Three-legged Kettle 夜の梅, 居眠り, 鼎踊り | |||
| Series | Kyōsai Manga 狂斎漫画 [Cartoons by Kyōsai] | |||
| Artist | Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831-1889) | |||
| Signature |
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| Seal of the Artist |  | |||
| Publication Date |  | |||
| Publisher | Tsujiokaya Bunsuke 辻岡屋文助  [Marks: pub. ref. 548; seal 02-064] | |||
| Carver | ||||
| Printer | ||||
| Impression | excellent | |||
| Colors | excellent | |||
| Condition | excellent - slight wrinkling; unbacked | |||
| Genre | ukiyo-e, harimaze-e, giga-e | |||
| Miscellaneous | ||||
| Format | vertical oban | |||
| H x W Paper | 14 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (37.5 x 24.8 cm) | |||
| H x W Image | 14 1/16 x 9 in. (35.7 x 22.9 cm) note: measurement includes the kanji information at the top of the print | |||
| Collections This Print | Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum | |||
| Reference Literature | Comic Genius: Kawanabe Kyōsai, Oikawa Shigeru, Timothy Clark and Matthi Forrer, Tokyo Shinbun, 1996, p. 225, fig. 128. |
8/4/2021
3/13/2021
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