About This Print
One of 118 prints in the series Dai Nippon Bussan Zue (Products of Greater Japan), issued in August 1877 to coincide with the opening of Japan’s first National Industrial Exposition (Naikoku Kangyō Hakurankai) held in Tokyo’s Ueno Park.
Suruga craftsmen were known for the production of intriguing bamboo baskets such as insect cages and confectionery containers to sell to travelers along the Tōkaidō. They specialized in using round, often bent bamboo strips to connect round bamboo rims, forming a container.1
Suruga Province (駿河国, Suruga no kuni) was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay.2
Transcription of Scroll
Source: with thanks to Yajifun http://yajifun.tumblr.com/Manufacture of bamboo work in Suruga Province 駿河國竹細工製ノ図
“安部郡静岡の産にして種々の竹を以て製造す 文房具酒具菓子ばち茶？（チヤキ）及び諸般の器物笠の類 種々の細工あり 皆精巧にして世に称せらるか故に駿河細工と称せり” ※キ 器
Multiple Editions (Variant Printings)
At least three variant printings (editions) were made of this series. Each variant printing uses a different colored cartouche containing the series' title, either red, green or rainbow-colored. Different colored borders were also used and variances in the use of colors and shading are present in the three editions.
1 "Inspiration and objects of comparison from Japan", The Hakone Goblet: International Relations of a Local Craftsman, Alexandra Harris, Department of Japanese and Korean Studies, University Leiden http://hakone-goblet.com/toc/inspiration-from-japan/
2 Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suruga_Province
2 Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suruga_Province
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #373 |
| Title or Description | Manufacturing Bamboo Work in Suruga Province 駿河国竹細工製ノ図 |
| Series | Dai Nippon Bussan Zue 大日本物産図会 (Products of Greater Japan) |
| Artist | Utagawa Hiroshige III (1842–1894) |
| Signature | no signature visible |
| Seal | none |
| Publication Date | 1877 (Meiji 10) |
| Publisher | Ōkura Magobei 大倉孫兵衛 (Kin'eido; 1843-1921) [Marks: pub. ref. 627] |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | good - vertical centerfold |
| Genre | nishiki-e; kaika-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | chuban |
| H x W Paper | 6 7/8 x 9 3/8 in. (17.5 x 23.8 cm) |
| H x W Image | 6 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. (16,2 x 22.2 cm) |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print | Hagi Yamaguchi Prefectural Art Museum Urakami system: U02956; National Institute of Japanese Literature Archives & Collections 37T/029 |
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