Akasaka Kinokuni-zaka and Akasaka Temporary Palace from the series Famous Places of Tokyo: Past and Present

 

Japanese Color Woodblock Print

Akasaka Kinokuni-zaka and Akasaka Temporary Palace from the series

Famous Places of Tokyo: Past and Present

by Utagawa Hiroshige III, 1884

The Ebisuya and Hoteiya Dry-Goods Store in Owari-chō and Nippōsha Nichinichi Shinbun in Owari-chō from the series Famous Places of Tokyo: Past and Present

IHL Cat. #605

IHL Cat. #1289

About This Print

The top print above (IHL Cat. #605) provides a past, or old (古), view in Akasaka, depicting a busy street on the Kinokuni slope where the Edo residences of the Kishū Tokugawa family were located. It is matched with a present, or now (今), view on the bottom sheet (IHL Cat. #1289), depiciting the Akasaka Temporary Palace (Akasaka karikōkyo), which served as the chief imperial residence during the construction of the Tokyo Imperial Palace from 1873 to 1889.

These past and present views were orginally printed together as one oban-size sheet as shown below and later cut apart.  They are two of at least 32 views, contained on 16 uncut oban-size sheets, in the series Famous Places of Tokyo: Past and Present.



  古今東京名所: 赤坂紀ノ国坂・赤坂仮皇居
kokon Tokyo meisho: Akasaka Kinokunizaka [top] Akasaka kari kokyo [bottom]

The Series: Famous Places of Tokyo: Past and Present

A series of at least sixteen uncut oban-size sheets depicting a past or old (古) view on the top sheet, and present or now (今) view, on the bottom sheet, of a particular area of Tokyo. Many of the views are similar to those found in Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei). 


Print Details

 IHL Catalog
 #605, #1289
 Title or Description #605: Akasaka Kinokuni-zaka 赤坂紀ノ国坂
 #1289: Akasaka karikōkyo 赤坂仮皇居
 Series Famous Places of Tokyo: Past and The Present (Kokon Tokyo meisho 古今東京名所)
 Artist Utagawa Hiroshige III (1842–1894)
 Signature
廣重画 Hiroshige ga (#605 left; #1289 right)
 Seal no seal
 Publication Date
February 1884 ((明治十七 二月; Meiji 17, 2nd month) as printed in the left margin of #1289.
 Publisher
 
seal of the publisher Tsujiokaya Bunsuke, as printed in the left margin of #1289 and reading:
 出板人横山丁三丁目二番地辻岡文助
Shuppanjin Yokoyamachō Sanchōme 2-banchi Tsujioka Bunsuke [Marks: pub. ref. 548; seal ref. 25-267]
artist's address and family name, as printed in the left margin of #605 and reading: 
画工[gakō] followed by address, followed by 安藤 徳兵衛 [Andō Tokubei] 

 Carver 
 Impression IHL Cat. #605 and IHL Cat. #1289 - excellent
 Colors IHL Cat. #605 and IHL Cat. #1289 - excellent
 Condition IHL Cat. #605: excellent
 IHL Cat. #1289: fair - paper wrinkling resulting from removal from backing; vertical separation repaired from verso
 Genre ukiyo-e; meisho-e
 Miscellaneous
markings in upper right hand corner of each print, indicating whether the view shown is the past , or old (古), view or the present or now (今) view.  [Note: Many of the prints in the series are numbered in the upper right margin, but these two prints do not carry a number.]
 Format chūban yoko-e
 H x W Paper 
 IHL Cat. #605: 7 9/16 x 9 13/16 in. (19.2 x 24.9 cm)
 IHL Cat. #1289: 7 1/16 x 9 7/16 in. (17.9 x 24 cm)
 H x W Image
 IHL Cat. #605: 6 7/16 x 8 1/2 in. (16.4 x 21.6 cm) 
 IHL Cat. #1289: 6 1/2 x 8 9/16 in. (16.5 x 21.7 cm)
 Literature 

 Collections This Print
 Waseda University Library 10 08624 0013