Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake
From One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
1857
One of the two most iconic images in Ukiyo-e (along with Hokusai’s Great Wave), we see seven pedestrians hurry along the Shin-Ohashi Bridge, vainly attempting to keep themselves covered as an afternoon thunderstorm interrupts the summer calm. Van Gogh was so impressed by this design that he created his own version in oils as an homage to this print, now in the Van Gogh museum. It would be difficult to overstate the influence that this series had on western art and artists.
Chiyogaike Pond, Meguro 目黒 千代が池 (First Deluxe Edition)
From One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Meisho Edo Hyakkei 名所江戸百景
1856
Peaceful springtime view of flowing water cascading into Chiyogaike Pond, which was named after the wife of a medieval warrior. The classical “glove clouds” cling to the slopes, and below them cherry trees blossom in soft shades of pink. Hiroshige has here shown the reflections of the trees in the water, using artistic license to depict these reflections, a flourish that was considered quite exotic at the time. A woman and child stand atop a tiny island, admiring the cascade of the waterfall. This beautiful place is now just a memory, as it is covered by large apartments and has been completely built over. This is from the first, or deluxe edition.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Some minor wrinkles.
Dimensions: ôban 37 x 24.8cm Date: 1856
Publisher: Uoya Eikichi
Literature: Henry Smith II: “Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”, plate 23. See the collections of the British Museum, Chazen Museum, Honolulu Academy of Art, MFA, Brooklyn Museum. Signature: Hiroshige ga
Kinryusan Temple at Asakusa 浅草金龍山
From One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
1956
One of the most famous and celebrated images from Hiroshige’s most modernist series. We see the huge red lantern that hangs above the Kaminariomon (“Thunder Gate”) entrance to Asakusa Kannon Temple, also known as Sensoji Temple. This is one of the most recognizable places in Tokyo, and a symbol of Asakusa and probably one of the most popular temples in Japan even today. As most of the buildings were destroyed during World War II, it is nice to have this depiction of how the ancient structure looked. Kinryûzan Sensôji, its formal name, dates back to 628, when two fishermen discovered a small gold image of Kannon in their net; the image was enshrined there, and the temple has had a popular following through the centuries. The auspicious white and red color scheme is used specifically for celebratory occasions. For the lantern, an orange pigment made with lead was chosen so that it would oxidize to an orange-grey, the same way that an orange lantern left out in the elements would discolor over time.
Dawn Inside the Yoshiwara
From One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
1857
“In one of the most beautifully executed prints of the entire series, Hiroshige has here placed us in a strangely evocative zone of transition, as dawn begins to break in the Yoshiwara licensed quarter”. (Henry Smith II). A male guest adjusts his head covering as he heads for home, passing the planted cherry trees after a night in the district. We see the coming of the dawn as three figures in the middle distance prepare for the departure of a guest, who is bid farewell by the courtesan herself, dressed in bright red.
A young geisha has just caught a firefly between her hands, captured by Yoshitoshi at the charming moment where she has just gotten what she was after and does not quite know what to do with her prize. The night is a deep black above, a layer of mica adding to its beauty. Three fireflies are shown with their abdomens aglow, creating mini lanterns against the darkness. The beauty is wearing an open-weave silk robe that is so light that it is translucent and we see the shape of her arm beneath the fabric. She holds an uchiwa summer fan between her teeth and her right sleeve and hair strands are caught by the evening breeze. As noted by the incomparable John Stevenson in his description of this design: “The whole adds up to a delightfully fresh sensuality.” With the three-colored cartouche that indicates an early (”first”) edition.
Condition: Excellent impression and color; very good condition. With mounting remnants verso along the edges of the print
Flute Player Triptych 明治十五壬午季秋絵画共進会出品画藤原保昌月下弄笛図応需
1883
ôban triptych each sheet approx 37.5 x 25.5 cm (76.5 cm)
Yoshitoshi’s masterpiece, “The painting ‘Fujiwara Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight’, Exhibited at the National Painting Exhibition in the Autumn of 1882”. We see the poet Fujiwara no Yasumasa (958-1036) playing his flute beneath a full moon on Ichihara Moor. The bandit Hakamadare Yasusuke creeps up on him, intending to rob him of his opulent robes–however, Yasusuke is so arrested by the sound of the playing that he cannot draw his sword. The bandit is so entranced by the music and by Yasumasa’s poise that he follows Yasumasa home. Yasumasa then gifts him a robe of his own, giving the tale a surprisingly happy ending. This triptych was commissioned by the publisher Akiyama Buemon after Yoshitoshi submitted a painting of this scene to the Exhibition for the Advancement of National Painting in 1882. That painting is now in the collection of the Worcester Art Museum. Yoshitoshi’s teacher Kuniyoshi also created works with this famous subject, and Yoshitoshi designed a triptych in 1868 in his early style that looks completely different. This triptych is widely considered Yoshitoshi’s greatest woodblock print design.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. A fine layer of mica covers the entire work. Dimensions: ôban triptych each sheet approx 37 x 25 cm Publisher: Akiyama Buemon Literature: See MFA, FAMSF, Smithsonian, AIC, LACMA, Philiadelphia Museum of Art. Newland, Yoshitoshi (2011), #81; Shioya, “Katsureki…,” in Ukiyo-e geijutsu 147 (2004), p. 30, fig. 1; Shibuya Kuritsu Shôtô Bijutsukan, Musha-e (2003), #27; Ing & Schaap, Beauty & Violence (1992), #43; Ukiyo-e taikei 12 (1976), #27-29. Also shown in practically every catalog on this artist. Seal: Taiso and Yoshitoshi Signature: zu ôju Taiso Yoshitoshi sha
Scene from the Inaka Genji, the Genji-based novel by Ryutei Tanehiko that was published in serialized form in 1829-1842 and took Edo culture by storm. Yoshitoshi here shows the protagonist Mitsuuji (the updated Genji) and his lover Tasogare as they flee her mother’s supervision to spend the night together in an old temple. Mitsuuji has wrapped a bamboo blind around them to aid their escape; both look out nervously as the wind whips her clothes and kerchief. They are isolated on the desolate moor, surrounded by plume-grass. Their feet form a circle, echoing the circle of the blind; here they must be disoriented as they search for the light of the temple in the distance.
According to the Smithsonian website, “The implicit eroticism of this vertical diptych by Yoshitoshi led to a judgment by Meiji government censors that it was injurious to public morals. One of the objections was that one of Mitsuuji’s hands is not visible. The artist is said to have responded that if everything is depicted, the flavor is lost. Despite the controversy it aroused, this print represents a high point in Yoshitoshi’s artistic renderings of dramatic scenes in beautiful natural settings imbued with deep lyricism and human emotion.”
We see a cuckoo flying against the patterned storm clouds as streaks of rain begin to fall. A three-quarter moon shines overhead. Beautiful, early edition of this famous design, printed on rather heavy paper. Here the clouds and surroundings all have extra bokashi shading that gives richness and depth to the scene.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Tiny nibble at bottom right corner. Dimensions: ôban vertical diptych (72 x 24.9 cm) Publisher: Matsui Eikichi Literature: Roger Keyes, Courage and Silence, 1983, p. 458, no. 474. Shinichi Segi, Yoshitoshi the Splendid Decadent, 1985, p. 81, no. 50; Akita Museum of Modern Art, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi: The Last Ukiyo-e Artist of Genius, 1999, p. 28, no. 84; Andreas Marks, Genji’s World in Japanese Woodblock Prints, 2012, p. 153, nos. 144-145; Ota Memorial Museum of Art, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi: 120th Memorial Retrospective, 2012, p. 129, no. 192; Yuriko Iwakiri, Yoshitoshi, 2014, p. 144, no. 214. Seal: Yoshitoshi Signature: Ôju Yoshitoshi ga
What at first glance seems to be a woman in profile with a contemplative expression is in fact a bunraku puppet, her face and neck in bright white and her clothes quite voluminous. Saito’s unique use of the woodgrain and mastery of graphic impact is on evident display here. The sleeve that appears black is actually striped. Bunraku is anEdo period art form that creates theater with dolls that are half-life-size, and are manipulated by three performers. The expertise of the puppeteers and the puppet-makers create performances that are surprisingly moving and emotional. To perform as a main puppeteer and control the movement of the head and right arm, 22 years of experience are required
Dimensions: 43 x 29.2 cm Literature: Kiyoshi Saito Retrospective,Fukushima,1997, ill.2-162. See Cat. 93 in Rhiannon Paget’s Saitô Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening (2021), page 152. Seal: Kiyoshi Signature: Kiyoshi Saito (in pencil)
Strikingly inventive portrait of “Three Geisha: Kayo of Kyoto, Hitotsuru of Osaka, and Kokichi of Tokyo”. The theme of beauties from the three capitals dates back over two centuries in ukiyo-e, but here Kiyochika has used the device of overlapping the eyes to combine all three into a single oval portrait. The three share a single fan and hair ornament. The artist has also given the portrait the flavor of a photograph, and uses a western frame above with a Japanese poem card at right. In another unique twist, the woodblock printing mimics lithographic printing within the oval of the portrait. The poem card is a haiku that reads, “Oh to see moon and snow together in the mountain of blossoms”. The ancient theme of “snow, moon, flower” seems evident on the fan. WIth some mica evident in the upper cartouche.
Condition: Excellent impression and color. Very good condition; barely visible horizontal crease Dimensions: ôban (36 x 24.8 cm) Publisher: Matsuki Heikichi Literature: Pictured in “Kiyochika: Artist of Meiji Japan” by Henry D. Smith II, figure 15, page 28. See Smithsonian example online for the Muller example. Signature: Kobayashi Kiyochika
Cawing Crow 雪中の鴉 on a Snowy Branch (Oversized)
ca. 1920s-30s
A jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) has been captured in mid-caw, its beak open enough for us to see its slender tongue peeking out. Beautifully printed in a painterly style, the feathers have an unusually high level of detail, even the fine ones surrounding the beak. This print was published by Nishinomiya; in the Newland catalog raisonné on this artist they have pictured the Adachi reprint of this work. With the “Made in Japan” seal verso, indicating that the work was intended for export in the late 1920s or early-to-mid 1930s. This must be the largest of Koson’s crow designs, and the artist has used the larger space of the paper very effectively.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Dimensions: 43.7 x 27.5 cm cm Literature: Crows, Cranes and Camellias (2001), number 140, page 142 and K5.15. See Rijksmuseum, Princeton University.. See Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. Seal: Hanken shoyu Nishinomiya Yosaku (left margin) Signature: Koson
Yanagi (Willow) from the series A Comparison of Contemporary Flowers 當世はなくらべ (Tosei hana kurabe)
ca. 1820
From an elegant early Kunisada series that compares beautiful women to flowers. A beauty, still preparing for her day, is wiping a hair comb before putting it back into a folding container that contains hair accessories. We see a brush, scissors, pomade (?) and a large needle and thread that would have been used in securing the style or ornaments. The woman is bent over in a way that echoes the willow branch in the cartouche that is bending strongly to the left. In Japan the comparison with the willow is that it is resilient, and bends beneath the weight of heavy snow but does not break. The hairstyles that the women would have had to keep immaculate must have required a great deal of attention and upkeep. Here we get a glimpse of some of the preparation that a woman would undergo as part of her beauty routine.
Early Kunisada prints like this one that are signed “Gototei” are considered the artist’s finest work.
Condition: Very good impression, color and condition.A hinging remnant and ink notation is verso. Dimensions: ôban 37 x 25.2 cm Publisher: Omiya Heihachi Signature: Gototei Kunisada ga
Roben Waterfall at Oyama in Sagami Province 相州大山ろうべんの瀧 (Soshu Oyama Roben no taki)
1832
Descending from the forested cliff above, Roben waterfall cascades in a smooth arc to the pool below, where pilgrims purify themselves in its icy waters. Hokusai has warmly depicted a group of such pilgrims, the men focused on the process of purifying their bodies by standing under the falls with fortitude before climbing out to dry themselves and reclaim their clothes and packs. Several of the men carry wooden swords as offerings which will presumably be offered at the Aburi Shrine that is further up Mount Oyama. We see traveling hats stacked at right with the seal of the publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi winkingly adorning the topmost one. Men here seem to be resting and conversing in a cottage, cloths hanging to dry nearby–their relaxed mien hints that they might have already visited the temple. The publisher has also snuck in his name “Ei” on the hat hanging on the fence at bottom as well as his trademark on the robe of the man dressing at lower left. This edition has been printed with a spring green rather than a lemon yellow at bottom left and in the cliffs, and the roofs are also a green-brown rather than an orange color. This impression is superior to the British museum example 1906,1220,0.558.
Condition: Very good impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban (37.3 x 26 cm)
Publisher: Nishimuraya Yohei (Eijudô)
Literature: See Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, British Museum (2 examples), Honolulu Academy of Art, Legion of Honor, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gian Carlo Calza, Hokusai: Il vecchio pazzo per la pittura, 1999, p. 344, no. V48.4. Matthi Forrer, Hokusai: Prints and Drawings, 1991, no. 45
Signature: Saki no Hokusai Iitsu hitsu (From the brush of Iitsu, the former Hokusai)
Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Selected Works
Live online on September 12, 2024
Hiroshige’s groundbreaking series 100 Famous Views of Edo was his final masterwork, redefining the landscape genre in 19th c. Japanese woodblock printmaking. Hiroshige‘s unique vision came alive with the publisher Sakanaya, who hired the finest carvers and printers and spared no expense in creating this series. Previous series by Hiroshige and Hokusai featured many significant designs in the usual horizontal format, but fewer blocks were used and thus the color palettes and the printing effects were more limited.
For this late 1850s series, Hiroshige chose the dramatic upright format, and there were many more color blocks created per image and more care taken with the printing of the early editions. The series had a seismic influence on late 19th century western art and artist, one that would be difficult to overstate. Artists like Van Gogh Monet, Manet and Whistler found this series revelatory and inspirational, along with countless other artists (and even photographers). It would not be too strong to say that it made them rethink their relationship to representational art. The unusual viewpoints, flat planes of color and strongly cropped elements by Hiroshige along with the extra care and consideration lavished on this series by the printers and carvers via publisher, make this the capstone on his storied career.
Our exhibition includes the undisputed masterpiece in this series, Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake, the work selected by Van Gogh as a basis to create an homage as an oil painting, now at the Van Gogh Museum. The Brooklyn Museum of art has recently closed its exhibition on the series; its deluxe edition set is considered one of the great treasures of the Museum.
Take a look at our newest acquisitions online. They are updated daily, so be sure to check back often. View them all here.
We also have a Unique Gift Ideas section for affordable prints including secret sale works with reduce prices if you’re looking for the perfect gift! Visit Unique Gift Ideas here.
ABOUT THE GALLERY
Established in 1975, Egenolf Gallery specializes in fine Japanese woodblock prints and drawings, including works by the earliest 17th century pioneers of ukiyo-e to the shin hanga masters of the 20th century. We are pleased to offer a highly curated selection of designs in exceptional condition over a broad range of prices. Our focus is providing value to our clients. Clients include museums, private collectors and dealers in the US, Europe, and Japan. First-time buyers as well as established collectors are able to buy from us with confidence, knowing that all prints and drawings are guaranteed authentic and as described.
Herbert Egenolf began dealing in Japanese prints in 1975 in Duesseldorf, Germany, following an eleven-year residency in Japan. In 1992 he invited Veronica Miller to join him in the business. After working together with Mr. Egenolf for ten years, she became the director of Egenolf Gallery following the untimely passing of Mr. Egenolf in 2002, and now is based near Los Angeles, California. In addition to our schedule of Print Fairs, viewings of prints can be arranged by appointment – contact us by phone or email.
We belong to both the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) and the Ukiyo-e Dealers Association of Japan. Every March we participate in Asia Week, New York as well as regional Print Fairs on the West Coast.
