About This Book
A 1916 re-issue of the first of two volumes of Utagawa Toyokuni's illustrated book Ehon imayō sugata (Picture Book of Modern Figures of Fashion), originally issued in 1802. Originally published by Izumiya Ichibei of the publishing firm Kansendō, this 1916 edition was issued in a larger overall format1 by the Tokyo publishing house Fūzoku emaki zuga kankōkai (Association for Publication of Genre Handscroll Illustrations), specializing in the reprinting of Edo-period illustrated books and scrolls and classic ukiyo-e prints.
During his lifetime, Toyokuni illustrated over 400 books and this work may be his masterpiece, depicting Kansei era (1789-1801) women of all classes - from aristocratic and samurai, to servants and courtesans. Published in two volumes, the first volume contains twelve double-page illustrations of women engaging in various past-times and work, dressed in period fashion appropriate to their class. The second volume, not currently part of this collection, contains twelve double-page depictions of women of the "pleasure quarters", from elite courtesans to unlicensed prostitutes. The illustrations are generally arranged in order of perceived popular status rather than by strict class order.
Most refined (aristocrat) to least refined women (unlicensed prostitute)
left: illustration 1, volume 1
right: illustration 11, volume 2
Embossed seals on front and rear covers
left: Toshidama seal of the Utagawa School
right: seal reading Shikitei 式亭
"In the words of its author and illustrator, Utagawa Toyokuni, ‘Ehon imayō sugata is a book about women of all kinds: from women of noble birth to those of the lowest classes—from the most virtuous women to the most immoral.’ Specifically, these are Toyokuni’s depictions of the modern women of early 19th century Edo (present-day Tokyo) presented in scenes from their daily lives. The book is considered one of the artist’s most important works, designed and published at the height of his career in 1802."3
The Mysterious Blank Cartouches
In the original 1802 edition, the cartouches alongside each figure provide descriptions, but soon after the original edition, the cartouches and their descriptions were removed (cut out of the blocks), leaving blanks, as can be seen in the below comparison of the eighth drawing titled "common women - second (drawing)" in volume 1, in the original and a subsequent edition. In addition, copies of the original edition exist which have had all the cartouches overdrawn by hand as seen in the lower left image below.
In the original 1802 edition, the cartouches alongside each figure provide descriptions, but soon after the original edition, the cartouches and their descriptions were removed (cut out of the blocks), leaving blanks, as can be seen in the below comparison of the eighth drawing titled "common women - second (drawing)" in volume 1, in the original and a subsequent edition. In addition, copies of the original edition exist which have had all the cartouches overdrawn by hand as seen in the lower left image below.
In the notes on Ehon imayō sugata appearing in Ukiyoe: Images of Unknown Japan, Hillier states, "In the first edition the cartouches alongside each figure gave the names, but soon after the first issue, for reasons that have never been established, the names were removed, leaving blanks."4 Subsequent investigation suggests that the cartouches were removed to comply with government censorship rules, although it is unclear which censorship laws were causing concern, as the Kansei Reforms, which negatively effected ukiyo-e production by banning, in 1800, "pictures detrimental to public morality" were no longer in effect by 1802, and new censorship regulations effecting the publishing industry did not take effect until 1841 under the short-lived Tempō Reforms (1841-1842).5
click on image to enlarge
1 11 15/16 x 8 5/16 (30.3 x 21.1 cm) vs. 8 1/2 x 6 in. (21.6 x 15.2 cm)
2 Shikitei Sanba (式亭 三馬) was the pen name of Kikuchi Hisanori (菊池 久徳)
3 Princeton University Library website, article by Nicole Fabricand-Person https://library.princeton.edu/news/2015-09-18/ehon-imayo-sugata-edmond-de-goncourt-collection
4 Ukiyoe: Images of Unknown Japan, ed. Lawrence Smith, British Museum Publications Ltd. 1988, p. 176
5 Princeton University Library website, article by Nicole Fabricand-Person https://library.princeton.edu/news/2015-09-18/ehon-imayo-sugata-edmond-de-goncourt-collection
The Complete Volume 1 of Ehon imayō sugata
Notes:
1. All transcriptions are copied from https://www.dheq.org/honkoku/664C37CD2C009692B1170DFC4F6563C2_text.html where a complete transcription of all the text can be found.
2. Pages are shown in Japanese book order
opening sentences:
ぞありけるおふとがら。べらつきのう。引（ふつ）はつ
たる。おじやうさあのあれば。
opening sentences:
絵（ゑ）の事（こと）さあ。素（しれへ）を後（のち）にするだあちふ。うらあ。
はあ。しらぬこんだども。物しりの。おんぢいたちの。
aristocratic women parading passing a yōjiya (楊枝屋), a shop selling toothpicks;
first column of text:
三に三味線（さみせん）岡崎（おがざき）の糸道（いとみち）わかりてより追欠競（おつかけくら）
first column of text:
はや矢（や）を拾（ひろ）ふ尻（しり）つきまで少しの所作（しよさ）をくはへ
first column of text:
りて切り返さずかゝる浮虚（うはき）の生質（うまれつき）にして一
first column of text:
こゝろ付（つけ）なきをふて寝に見しらせ二親（ふたおや）
とて迷（まよ）ふべからず醜（みにく）きとて癈（すつ）る事 勿（なか）れ
只（たゞ）想（おも）ふ紫野（むらさきの）の和尚（おせう）が教戒（いましめ）に違（たが）はず
夫（それ）御用心（ごようじん）〳〵絵本時世粧上之巻 尾Ehon imayō sugata first volume - the end
first column of text:
稽古（けいこ）としられ稽古浄瑠璃の簾（みす）御 閉帳（へいてう）のごとく
Book Details
| IHL Catalog | #1311 |
| Title or Description | Ehon Imayō Sugata, Volume 1 絵本時世粧 乾 Picture Book of Modern Figures of Fashion (also translated as Picture Book of the Modern Forms and Figures; The Picture Book of the Custom of Women; Picture Books of Contemporary Fashion ) |
| Artist | Utagawa Toyokuni (1786–1865); editor: Shikitei Sanba 式亭三馬 (1766-1822) |
| Signature | 歌川豊圀著 Utagawa Toyokuni cho A book by Utagawa Toyokuni |
| Seal | |
| Publication Date | 1916 Taishō 5 (originally 1802 享和2 Kyōwa 2) |
| Edition | |
| Publisher | 風俗絵巻図画刊行会 Fūzoku emaki zuga kankōkai (originally Izumiya Ichibei) |
| Carver | |
| Printer | |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | good |
| Condition | good |
| Miscellaneous | The first of two volumes |
| Genre | ehon 絵本 |
| Format | fukurotoji |
| H x W Paper | overall book dimensions H x W x D: 11 15/16 x 8 5/16 x 7/16 in. (30.3 x 21.1 x 1.1 cm) |
| H x W Image | area defined by black border of each illustration: 6 15/16 x 5 1/4 in. (17.6 x 13.3 cm) approx. |
| Collections This Book | (collections holding the 1916 edition) - UC Berkeley Library Call No. 6289.2.7229 no.7; The University of British Columbia Library Call Number NE1325.U79 A63 1979; Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art FSC-GR-780.743.1-2; Stanford University Library NE1325 .U82 E55 1916 F V.2; National Diet Library Call Number 721.8-U78194e |
| Reference Literature | |
7/20/2021 created
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