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. It depicts the brewing of refined sake at Itami in Settsu Province (摂津国, Settsu no kuni) which is now part of Hyōgo Prefecture.
Settsu Province (摂津国 Settsu no kuni) was a province of Japan, which today comprises the southeastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. It was also referred to as Tsu Province (津国 Tsu no kuni) or Sesshū (摂州). Osaka and Osaka Castle were the main center of the province. Most of Settsu's area comprises the modern day cities of Osaka and Kōbe.1
This crêped version of the print was made by the chirimen process, resulting in a cloth-like, smaller dimensioned, irregularly shaped print. (See the explanation in the Glossary under chirimen-e ("crêped" print)).As with a number of the prints in this series this image was based upon one in the 1799 book Nihon Sankai Meisan Zue (Famous Sea and Land Products in Japan, as shown below.
click on image to enlarge
Sake - Born in Itami
Source: website of Hyogo Prefectural Hanshin North Area Tourism Promotion Council http://hankita-tourism.jp/en/area/itami/course/
Around the year 1600, Shinroku Yamanaka, a wealthy merchant in Osaka and the earliest ancestor of the Konoike Family, succeeded in brewing clear sake called "Morohakusumi-zake," which was different from conventional nigori-zake (unfiltered cloudy sake). This is said to be the start of seishu (refined sake).
-coming-
click on image to enlarge
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. A crêped version of the series was also produced.
| IHL Catalog | #1907 |
| Title or Description | Sake Brewing at Itami in Settsu Province 摂津国伊丹酒造之図 |
| Series | Dai Nippon Bussan Zue 大日本物産図会 (Products of Greater Japan) |
| Artist | Utagawa Hiroshige III (1842–1894) |
| Signature | Artist's family name, Andō Tokubei, trimmed from the margin of this print. |
| Seal | none |
| Publication Date | 1877 (Meiji 10) |
| Publisher | Publishing information trimmed from the margin of this print. Ōkura Magobei 大倉孫兵衛 (Kin'eido; 1843-1921) [Marks: pub. ref. 627] |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | good - margins trimmed almost to image, normal misshapen size due to chirimen process |
| Genre | nishiki-e; kaika-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | chuban |
| H x W Paper | 5 1/8 x 7 9/16 in. (13 x 19.2 cm) |
| H x W Image | 4 5/8 x 7 3/16 in. ( 11.7 x 18.3 cm) |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print | |
9/26/18
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