Floating Along in the World of Japanese Prints

In Remembrance...

 

Jack admiring Eishi, by Jacob Pins, published in 1992.

I don't usually write very personal posts for this blog, but January is a difficult month for me. On January 5th 1995, Jack Hillier passed away and I lost my mentor and a very dear friend. The fact that I miss our conversations and the letters we exchanged is something that's constantly there, but I feel the loss more keenly at the beginning of each year. I was a very young art student when he took me under his wing; I grew up with him guiding and encouraging me. He gave selflessly of his time and knowledge and I owe him a great debt of gratitude; one that could never be repaid. So, this month is for remembering... for reflecting... for thinking myself extremely lucky to feel this sense of loss, as it is the result of having known such a great scholar and a great gentleman. Jack Hillier - August 28th 1912 to January 5th 1995.

A Woodblock Print to Advertise Woodblock Prints

 

I have a great interest in 19th to early 20th century advertising ephemera (something I've mentioned in passing before), so I'm very pleased to have just added this print to my collection. It's probably the most well-known Meiji flyer produced for the purpose of advertising a publishing house. It's an ōban woodblock print, produced in 1890 to advertise the firm of Daikokuya, who were especially well-known for their high quality designs during the 1880s and 1890s and published the works of such well-known artists as Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915), Toyohara Chikanobu (1838-1912) and Ohara Koson (1877-1945).

The text on the left of the print reads 'Daikokuya Matsukichi Heikichi, publisher and wholesaler of printed matter and woodblock prints' (Shomotsu nishikie toiya Daikokuya Mastsuki Heikichi); the 'printed matter' refers to books. The address is given as no.2, Yoshikawa-chō, in Ryōgoku (the area situated around Edo's famous bridge of the same name). The text on the right tells us the history of the Daikokuya publishing house and was written by Matsuki Heikichi IV, the fourth head of the firm, who died one year after this advertisement was designed. According to the text, Daikokuya had been in business since the first year of the Meiwa era (1764) and its reprints of earlier woodblocks were well-received in both Europe and America.

The circular seal above the right-hand side of the figure indicates that the print was published in the 2550th year since the first year of the reign of Emperor Jimmu (see image above, right-hand side). As Jimmu's reign was traditionally thought to have begun in 660 BC, this date corresponds to 1890. The circular seal to the left (see image above, left-hand side), and the inscription alongside the artist's signature (lower right of the figure) date the print to Meiji 23, which also corresponds with 1890. As for the artist's signature itself, I read it as Hishikawa Harushige, but I know nothing of this artist other than the fact that he produced other prints that were published by Daikokuya.

The figure shown in the design is an itinerant vendor of beni-e (lit. 'red pictures', the black outlines of which were printed while the rest of the colouring was added by hand). He carries on his back his portable wooden box of wares, the top of which is constructed to look like the frontage of the Miuraya, an establishment located within the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter of Edo. Along the side of this wooden model we see the characters for Yoshiwara, beneath Yoshiwara is written Ōmonguchi (Great Gate), referring to the entrance to that quarter, and the little blue noren (hanging curtain) at the front of the house tells us that the name of the business being advertised was Miura (see image above). Along the side of the box, beneath the model of the Miuraya, is written Elegant Beni-Coloured Figure Pictures (Fūryū beni saishiki sugata-e), describing the images suspended from the pole that the street vendor is selling, further examples of which are attached to the back of his sales box.

It's a charming image and an important, and rare, historical document. I can't help wondering how heavy the portable stock box was, especially when filled with numerous books and prints. The street vendor must have had quite a job, hauling it around the streets whilst selling his wares.

There Is Only One Sale

 

It's been in Harrods' emails and all over the store's advertising bumf... There is only one sale. A familiar part of the holiday season is the shopping madness that follows, or used to before the recession hit. And that mad rush to the department stores coming up to and just following the beginning of the year reminded me of this print by Hasegawa Sadanobu (1809–1879), from the series One Hundred Views of Ōsaka (Naniwa hyakkei no uchi), of which around sixty or so prints are known. It's called First Sale of the Year on Shinsaibashi Street (Shinsaibashi-dōri hatsu-uri no kei) and was published around 1860.

Shinsaibashi Street was the busiest in Ōsaka, with its shops and stalls open all day, every day. This print shows the street peddlers and stall holders along the street all vying for the business of customers who are out shopping during the evening at the New Year. It's a scene from a bygone age, but it's all very familiar. There is only one sale? The world over, we humans have been rushing out to shop at this time of year, generally in a frenzied state, ever since shopping was invented. The stores have grown in size, and they're heated and filled with bright electric lights, but little else has changed.