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, depicting the harvesting of kudzu (Japanese arrowroot or pueraria) root its being processed into powder. Yamato Province (大和国,Yamato no Kuni) was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū.1
"Young shoots from this abundant plant (see bulbous plants)are boiled in an iron kettle in pieces 1 m. long, and then submitted to longersoaking in running water, till their bast becomes loose, when it is strippedoff by hand. To bleach, soften, and divide its fibres, it is pounded andtreated with water, and otherwise manipulated. When finished, the fibres aretolerably firm and white, like hemp-bast. They are used for the woof of severalkinds of cloth, but only to a very limited extent."2
The artist based many of his designs on the designs that appeared in the 1799 book Nihon Sankai Meisan Zue (Famous Sea and Land Products in Japan), leaving some question whether everything Hiroshige III portrayed in the series was truly the "state of the art" in 1877 when the series was issued. (Although for many activities pictured, things wouldhave looked much the same in 1877 as in 1799.) In many cases, the information in the scroll is also copied from the earlier work.
Multiple Editions (Variant Printings)
At least three variant printings (editions) were made of this series. Each variant printing uses a different colored cartouche, 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.Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1480 |
| Title or Description | Digging Kudzu [Pueraria] Root in Yamato Province 大和国葛根堀図 Yamato no kuni kakkon hori zu |
| Series | Dai Nippon Bussan Zue 大日本物産図会 (Products of Greater Japan) |
| Artist | Utagawa Hiroshige III (1842–1894) |
| Signature | 廣重筆 Hiroshige hitsu in bottom right margin (trimmed on this print) |
| 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 reinforced by tape on verso; thinning to lower right margin |
| Genre | nishiki-e; kaika-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | chuban |
| H x W Paper | 6 13/16 x 9 3/8 in. (17.1 x 24.9 cm) |
| H x W Image | 6 3/8 x 9 in. (16.2 x 22.9 cm) |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print | Waseda University Library Archives 01_04265_0001 |
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