Old Story, Chrysanthemum Flower and Crane, Sumida River and Okina from the series Ryūsai manga

Gathering Shellfish at Low Tide at Fukagawa Susaki from the series Famous Views of Modern Tokyo
 

Japanese Color Woodblock Print

Old Story, Chrysanthemum Flower and Crane,

Sumida River and Okina

from the series Ryūsai manga

by Utagawa Hiroshige III, 1879

Suruga-chō, Evening scene of Mitsui Bank with Mt Fuji from the series Famous Places of Tokyo: Past and Present

IHL Cat. #1581

About This Print


The artist Utagawa Hiroshige III, a disciple of the great Utagawa Hiroshige I (1797-1858), created these sketches (manga), which were arranged three, four or five to a single sheet as a harimaze-e, in 1879.  Titled "Sketches by Ryūsai", Ryūsai being an artist name (gō) of Hiroshige III, they were very much in the tradition of his master Hiroshige I, who is sometimes credited as the inventor of the print genre harimaze, which can be literally translated as "paste and mix pictures" and is commonly translated as "cut-out pictures."

The height of their popularity was in the mid-1800s and these inexpensive prints were purchased and then often cut-apart and pasted onto Japanese screens or into scrapbooks.  Harimazi-e could include the work of multiple artists or just a single artist, as in  the case of these harimaze-e.  For other examples of harimazi-e in this collection see Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831-1889) and his works from the series Kyōsai Manga.

The inscription in the lower left Sumida River scene reads: 水や空星は流れてすみた川涼む小ふねや片われの月1
It's a poem on the theme of "enjoying the evening cool" along the Sumidagawa.

1 Transcription taken from Ritsumeikan Art Research Center AcNo. arcUP8051

Print Details

 IHL Catalog
 #1581
 Title or Description top right: Old Story 昔咄
 top left: Chrysanthemum Flower and Crane 菊の花に鶴
 bottom left: Sumida River すみた川
 bottom right: Okina 翁
 Series Sketches by Ryūsai 
 Ryūsai manga 立斎漫画
 Artist Utagawa Hiroshige III (1842–1894)
 Signature
画工：安藤徳兵エ [as printed in left margin]
artist name: Andō Tokubei [Hiroshige III's family name]
 Seal
"Hiro" diamond seal [this seal was also used by Hiroshige I]
 Publication Date
明治12年4月28日御届
April 28, 1879
 Publisher
Mizuno Keijirō 水野慶治郎 (Fujiokaya Keijirō) [Marks: pub. ref. 063; seal not shown]
 Carver
 Impression excellent
 Colors excellent
 Condition excellent
 Genre ukiyo-e; harimaze-e
 Miscellaneous   
 Format oban
 H x W Paper 
 14 1/4 x 9 1/2 in. (36.2 x 24.1 cm)
 H x W Image
 13 1/4 x 8 7/8 in. (33.7 x 22.5 cm)
 Literature 

 Collections This Print
 Ritsumeikan Art Research Center AcNo. MRAH-JP.06584 and AcNo. arcUP8051
last revision:
3/28/2020