ON COLLEClrrNG: I JAPANESE f" :OLOUR^?RTNt. BASIL STEWART s •aaii*i!BiaaB««»ssi 13 10 CORNELL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE LIBRARY -' wMMMiM i iii— ' '&««< BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1891 Cornelt University Library NE 1310.S84 On collecting Japanese colour-prints; bei 3 1924 020 566 752 DATE DUE PRtNTCD INU.B.A The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924020566752 ON COLLECTING « « JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS Choyensai Yeishin {c. 1800). Hana-ogi of Ogi-ya with two kamiiro and a friend on the engawa of a house decorated for the New Year : ! Choyensai Yeishin. On Collecting eg ^ Japanese Colour-Prints Being an Introduction to the Study and Collection of the Colour-prints of the Ukiyoye School of Japan. Illustrated by Examples from the Author's Collection ffi fiS fig By basil STEWART NEW YORK DODD,, MEAD & COMPANY 1917 Printed in Great Britain THE ANCHOR PRESS LTD. TIFTRBE ESSEX PREFACE This volume is not put forth as in any sense a , finished history of Japanese colour-prints and their artists, but is written mainly to assist the amateur who is starting a collection for the first time, or the | person who, while not actually a collector, is sufficiently interested to read about the subject, yet finds the more exhaustive and advanced works ' thereon somewhat beyond him. The number of students and collectors of old Japanese colour-prints is ever increasing as more people come under the influence of their charm and beauty, and as they become more widely ap- preciated. How to distinguish forgeries and imita- tions ; what prices should be given ; what examples can still be obtained, are some of the questions which the writer has attempted to answer. Judging from the large number of modern repro- ductions put upon the market by Japanese pub- lishers to meet the growing taste for Japanese prints, the collector who is venturing for the first V vi PREFACE time into this field needs some such guidance as is herein given. From the writer's experience, books on this subject appear to be written purely from the historical or artistic point of view, interesting enough for the mature collector, but of little con- solation to the beginner who has inadvertently bought a modern reproduction of, say, a print by Utamaro, or Hokusai ; while little is said of the subjects portrayed, a study of which makes print- collecting doubly interesting. In the first rush of enthusiasm, the beginner is liable to collect any and every Japanese print he comes across or is offered him ; generally prints by Kunisada and his innumerable followers which, by their crude and glaring colours and grotesque figures, may catch the eye, but warp the judgment as to what really constitute the famous colour-prints of Japan. Acquaintance with Kiyonaga, Utamaro, Yeishi, Hokusai, and Hiroshige, and other artists in the front rank, will for ever suppress any desire which a collector in his early days may once have had to acquire the crudities of the artists of a later generation. Owing, however, to the comparative abundance of their prints at the present day, these artists of PREFACE vii the middle of the nineteenth century cannot be entirely ignored in any work on this subject, if only to warn the reader what to avoid. The following chapters being primarily written for the beginner, artists whose work is very rare, or whose prints he is unlikely to come across in his search for examples, are not mentioned, unless where necessary from an historical or artistic point of view. For fuller information under this head more advanced works on the subject can be studied (e.g., " History of Japanese Colour-Prints," by von Seidlitz, London ; or " Chats on Japanese Prints," by A. D. Ficke, London, 1915). The examples with which to illustrate this volume have been selected with a view to assist the reader in identifying such prints as he is likely to start a collection with, or to show an artist's characteristics. The suitability of a print for reproduction has also been a factor in making a choice, some prints being better than others in this respect, by reason of the colours employed and their condition. Hiroshige's landscape prints being those which more readily appeal to the student at first, and which | generally form the nucleus of a collection, more examples by him are illustrated, in proportion, than other artists, though the selection throughout has viii PREFACE been varied as much as possible, consistent with the nature of this work. The signatures and other marks being transcribed by small reference numbers on the margins of the illustrations with a key below, it has not been thought necessary to give a table of reproductions thereof ; should a second edition be called for, this may be done. Reproductions of nearly 200 signa- tures will be found in the catalogue of the print collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. The thanks of the author are due to Mr, Shozo Kato for his valuable assistance in deciphering Japanese characters and seals found on prints, and in the transcription and spelling of Japanese names. BASIL STEWART. TuNBRiDGE Wells, March, 1917. CONTENTS •HAPTBK PAGS PREFACE - V I. HOW COLOUR-PRINTS WERE PRODUCED - I II. ON FORMING A COLLECTION - 12 III. FORGERIES, IMITATIONS, AND REPRINTS - 28 IV. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL - - - 40 V. ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL {Con- tinued) - - - - 56 VI. THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS, HOKUSAI AND HIROSHIGE 71 VII. SUBJECTS PORTRAYED BY THE UKIYOYE ARTISTS - - - - 92 VIII. JAPANESE CHRONOLOGY AS APPLIED TO THE DATING OF PRINTS - "115 INDEX - - - 133 IZ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Yeishin : Hana-ogi of Ogi-ya, seated on the engawa of a house on New Year's Day, with two kamuro and a companion - Frontispiece VLATE HO. FACE PACK 1. ToYOKUNi : The Actor^ Ichikawa Danzaburo, as a woman dancer holding a fan {hoso-ye form) - 4 2. Sadamasu : Fan Print : View of Suma Beach - 6 3. Shigenobu : Surimono : A Court Lady - 8 4. HiROSHiGE : Daybreak in the Yoshiwara (from the " Hundred Views of Yedo " series) - 16 3. Hiroshige: Station Chiryu (upright "Tokaido" series) 18 6. Hiroshige : View of Fuji from Tamagawa (from the "Thirty-six Views of Fuji" series)- - - 22 7. Hiroshige : Station Hiratsuka on the Tokaido - 26 8. ToYOKUNi : Court Ladies (centre sheet of triptych) - 32 9. Utamaro : Marionettes being worked above a screen by a man and woman behind it - - - 5° 10. Utamaro II. : Geisha making her salutation 32 11. Choki : Procession of Yoshiwara Beauties on New Year's Day (right sheet of a triptych) - 54 12. Yeishi : Court Lady holding a fan - - 58 13. Yeizan : Figure study of a Geisha (one of a " Refined Six Poetesses " series) - - - - 60 14. Yeisen : Blue print : Yoshiwara Beauty, Hanamura- saki of Tama-ya - - - - - 62 13. KiYOMiNE : Woman holding saki cup - 64 16. KuNivosHi : The Priest Nichiren quelling a storm at sea - - - - - - 66 17. KuNiYASU ; Gathering shells at low tide - - 68 i3. SuGAKUDO : Moor-hen and wistaria - 70 zi lii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 19. HoKUSAi : Fuji from Fujimigahara (one of the "Thirty-six Views of Fuji" series) - - 72 20. HoKusAi : " The Yoshitsune Horse-washing Fall " (one of the "Waterfalls" series) - - 74 21. HoKDSAi ; " The Eight-Parts Bridge " (one of the " Bridges " series) - - - - 76 22. Gakutei I Ships entering Tempozan Harbour - 78 93. HoKUju : Tea-Water Canal, Yedo - - - 80 24. HiROSHiGE i Sunset at No-jima - - - 82 23. HiROSHiGE ; Station Shono on the Tokaido - 84 26. HIROSHIGE : Benkei Canal in winter-time - - 86 27. HIROSHIGE : Moonlight on Lake Biwa (one of the " Sixty-odd Provinces " series) - 88 28. HIROSHIGE II. : Zojoji Temple (one of the " Thirty-six Views of Toto " series) - 90 29. Utamaro : The Bridal Journey, from the Chushin- gura drama, Scene 8 94 30. Utamaro : The Chushingura compared to Child- ren's Amusements, Scene 6 - - 98 31. Yeizan : Takikawa and Hana-6gi of Ogi-ya - - 104 32. KuNlYOSHi : Nichiren and Yamabushi - no Japanese Colour-Prints CHAPTER I HOW COLOUR-PRINTS WERE PRODUCED Old Japanese colour-prints are printed on a sheet of mulberry-bark paper, and are the product of three different craftsmen : the artist who drew the original design, the block-maker or engraver who transferred the design to the wood, and the printer. A block was cut for each colour in addition to the outHne or key-block. The drawing made by the artist, with whose name alone the print is generally associated, was done in Indian ink with a brush on very thin paper. This was passed to the engraver, who pasted it, face downwards, on the wood block (wild cherry- wood) and, cutting through the paper, transferred the outline to the block, afterwards removing the superfluous wood between the lines with chisels and gouges, and so producing an accurate negative in 2 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS high relief. Prints which are very early impressions from the block often show the marks of the cutting tools and the grain of the wood. The artist's design was therefore destroyed, a fact which should be borne in mind when offered as an original a drawing of which prints are known to exist, thus proving it to be a reproduction. There is, of course, the converse of this, as there are in existence to-day original drawings which were never used for the production of prints therefrom, as, for example, certain designs drawn by Hokusai for the " Hundred Poets " series, but not found as prints. To economise wood, both sides of the block were engraved, the back being used either for another stage of the same print, or for a different print altogether. From the outline or key-block a series of proofe was taken, on one of each of which was painted by the artist the part or parts of the print to appear in each separate colour ; from each proof so painted was cut an equivalent block, though if two colours were widely separated they might be put on one block. HOW PRINTS WERE PRODUCED 3 When all the required blocks were cut they were then passed on to the printer, who painted the colours on the block with brushes, thus making possible that delightful gradation of colour which is one of the charms of these colour-prints. A sheet of damped paper was laid on each block in turn, and the impression rubbed off by hand with a rubber or pad called a " baren." Correct register was obtained by means of an angle cut in one bottom corner of the block and a straight edge in the other. A single complete print was not printed off at a time, but several impressions were taken off each block in turn until it became necessary to recharge it with colour. Each impression being taken in proper rota- tion, all colours are of equal intensity. The reader may ask why it was necessary to have a separate block for each colour instead of applying all colours on one block. The reason is that, if done so, the colours would be liable to run into one another, and those first applied would dry before the painting was completed, and in consequence would give a weak impression compared with those applied last. The whole process, therefore, was hand-work in the fullest sense of the word, and was vastly superior 4 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS both artistically and technically, to any modern facsimile reproduction. Strictly speaking, these prints are not prints as understood in the modern sense, since no printing- press was used, and the colours are not from inks, but from paints mixed with rice-paste as a medium. 'The process was really a method of producing a i painted drawing in large numbers from a hand- Vcoloured block. These prints were produced almost entirely by the artists of one school, the " Ukiyoye " or popular school of painting, which was foimded in the seven- teenth century by a certain Iwasa Matabei, a man of aristocratic birth, who was born in 1577. Matabei and his immediate followers did not produce any prints themselves ; they worked solely as painters, and it was left to a successor, Hishigawa Moronobu, in the second half of the seventeenth century, to produce the first prints known. These were printed in black only, and occasionally coloured by hand. In the early days of the art (c. 1690) but few colours were used printed wholly from blocks, and it was not until the time of Harunobu (c. 1760) that almost unlimited colours were employed. Such prints were called Utagawa Toyokuni (17:69-1825.) The Actor, Ichikawa Danzaburo, as a woman dancer; print in hoso-ye form. [Key: 1234567 Toyo kuni ^'i.'a Ichi kawa Dan zabu - — . ' (drew) early form [c, 1800) Publisher's luarK : Y am ad a- y a"! Face p. 4. {Plate .\o. I HOW PRINTS WERE PRODUCED 5 nishiki-ye or " brocade pictures," a term still in use. The Ukiyoye School, from which sprang the art of the colour-printer, was started in Yedo (modern Tokio), then the great art centre of Japan, as a pro- test against the exclusive and aristocratic Kano and Tosa schools of painting — which were practically inaccessible to the masses of the people — and took its name from the class of subject its artists commonly portrayed. They depicted the everyday scenes (Ukiyoye means " passing-world pictures ") of the common people from which they themselves, with but few exceptions were sprung : their theatres and favourite actors, the inmates of the gay Yoshiwara quarter, street scenes, their festivals, and the hundred and one incidents that filled up their lives. The art of colour-printing from blocks, however, was only a development of the earlier art of wood- engraving, as books had been illustrated with wood- cuts towards the end of the sixteenth centiury, and it had been used in a very crude form considerably eariier than this. What the Ukiyoye School did was to discover a 6 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS means by which the art of the painter, the engraver, and the printer could be so combined as to produce coloured pictures in quantity. The result was an art, which, at its best, has never been equalled, much less excelled, in its own sphere as a pictorial art. According to their size and shape, prints are known by different terms. A full-size vertical sheet is called oban, about 15 by 10 in. ; chuban, a medium-size print, 11 by 8 in. ; and kohan, a still smaller size, measuring about 10 by 7 in. The horizontal print, corresponding to the oban in size, is termed yoko-ye, and is the form generally employed for landscape drawings. Other forms are kakemono-ye, two full-sized prints arranged vertically to foi;m a complete picture when joined together ; hashira-ye, a long, narrow print about 27 by 5 in., made to hang from the pillars {hashira) of a Japanese house ; hoso-ye, a small vertical print often used for single actor portraits {e.g., by Toyokuni) about 12 by 6 in. {see Plate i), and uchiwa-ye, a print for mounting as a fan. Surimono were a different class of print to any of the foregoing, and were pro- duced for purely private purposes, as greeting cards or souvenirs, much like our Christmas and New Year 00 < 'J) e ^ HOW PRINTS WERE PRODUCED 7 cards. They were almost square in shape, measur- ing about 8 by 7 in., and sometimes they are made up of multiples of this size, in the form of triptyches or two vertical ones. Particular care was lavished both by the artist, the engraver, and the printer upon their production, the decorative effect being increased by the use of gold, silver, bronze, and mother-of-pearl, while relief-printing (gauffrage) was liberally em- ployed. They were also, as a rule, printed on a much better quality paper, being thicker and softer than the ordinary prints sold in the street. Some collectors, indeed, reject surimono on the ground that they are not true examples of art, because artistic effect is produced by mere complication of technique, so that the medium employed, instead of the result, has become their sole object. Even so, fine surimono are very beautiful, while they show the skill of the engraver and the printer at its highest level. Some of the finest surimono were produced by pupils of Hokusai, who excelled even their master in this respect. Of these Hokkei, Gakutei, Shinsai, and Yanagawa Shigenobu were the chief. The art of the colour-print artist seems to us all 8 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS the more wonderful when we remember that, at the time these prints were being produced in Japan, Europe had only the coarsest of picture-books and the roughest of woodcuts to show as an equivalent while they were sold in the streets of Yedo for a few pence. Could their artists have foreseen the prices which their work commands to-day, they might well have dropped dead from astonishment. Even at the present day no Western pictorial art ran approach the artistic excellence, in composition, line, and colour, of these prints produced a hundred to a hundred and fifty years ago ; and it is to be regretted, from an artistic point of view, that the art has been so completely lost. While, doubtless, craftsmen are still to be found who could equal the skill of the old engravers, the knowledge to produce the exquisite native colours to which these prints owe so much of their charm is quite dead. Instead they are obliged to use im- ported aniline colours such as would have made the old painters shudder. Even in 1858 they were beginning to be used. A modern school of artists has, however, sprung up in recent years, but their work bears the obvious Yanagawa S h i g e n o b u (178(1-1832.) SuRiMONO : A beautiful Court T^ady. (Key: i 2 3 -i J Yana gawa Shigfe nobu Seal: Yanagawa, I- rue p. «. ! Plule No. 3. HOW PRINTS WERE PRODUCED 9 stamp of having been produced for export, and tends to mere prettiness of the chocolate-box order. In the revival of colour-printing by the methods employed by the Ukiyoye School, the chief difficulty, even after the requisite skill in cutting the block has been acquired after years of patient labour, seems to be in the actual printing. Such European and American artists as have produced prints more Japanico have always been obliged to employ a Japanese printer to take the " pulls." As a test, a collector known to the writer gave an original outline block to an English printer to try his skill on ; the resultant print was httle more than a smudge, due, no doubt, to the fact that ink was employed instead of paints, and that our method of taking " pulls " is different from that employed by the Japanese printer. No art has had such a meteoric career as that of the Japanese colour-printer. Taking 1745 as the earliest date of the true colour-^n'w^, in which the colour was impressed from a block as distinct from colour applied by hand to the print itself, it reached its zenith during the period of Kiyonaga and lo JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS his contemporaries, down to the death of Utamaro in 1806. It remained more or less at its high level of excel- lence till about 1825, after which date the decline set in surely and steadily, ever hastening with greater rapidity to its downfall as each year passed. For a brief period the advent of Hiroshige arrested the decline, but his genius only threw into sharper relief the inferior work of his contemporaries, who almost without exception began to copy him, in compUance with the insistent public demand for prints a la Hiroshige. It became practically, if not actually, extinct upon the death of Hiroshige in 1858. Thus we see that the art rose, flourished, and finally declined within the space of a little more than a century, a period almost equalled sometimes by that of a single lifetime. It died, not from lack of talent to carry it on, but from the want of a public to appreciate it, a public which preferred quantitj' to quality and which, as a consequence, got the art it demanded. The opening up of Japan to intercourse with the outer world was an additional factor in hastening the end. With an increase in the cost of hving, low HOW PRINTS WERE PRODUCED ii as it was according to our standards, coupled with a demand for things European, it did not pay to produce these prints by the old hand methods, and still sell them at the prices people were accustomed to give for them, with the result that the art became lost through disuse, the craftsmen being obliged to seek some other means of livelihood. CHAPTER II ON FORMING A COLLECTION The collecting of old Japanese colour-prints, for- merly the hobby of a select few, is to-day finding an ever-increasing number of votaries. As their beauty and charm become more widely appreciated, so do more art-lovers desire to possess them. The result is that prices, particularly for prints by the early masters — ^known as the Primitives — and for rare examples of later artists, have been greatly enhanced within recent years. The would-be collector, how- ever, whose means are limited need not at once con- clude that it is hopeless for him to gratify his desire to acquire these artistic treasures. No art covers so wide a field as that of the Japanese colour-print ; nor can any other offer such a varied choice, so that almost any taste and any purse can find material wherewith to form a collection. By the exercise of care, and by seizing opportuni- 12 ON FORMING A COLLECTION 13 ties as they occur, a collection can be formed for a relatively modest outlay which will be a perpetual source of pleasure to its owner and his friends. The one point to bear in mind is that discrimination is j the essence of all collecting. Aim at acquiring copies as near their pristine state as possible, unless a print is some great rarity, when a relatively inferior copy, that is somewhat faded or discoloured, is prefer- able to none at all. Many a collection has been improved by throwing out the inferior choices of early days. Again, personal taste is of more moment than mere value. To some, Sharaku's actor prints, which are extremely rare and cost anything over £30 apiece, will appear as masterpieces to be had at all costs ; others will think them merely ugly caricatures and much prefer a good landscape by Hiroshige at two or three pounds. It is, of course, desirable, as far as one's means will allow, to have examples of all types and periods, even by relatively minor artists, for the sake of study and comparison. When one has acquired, as a foundation, a collection of (say) a hundred and fifty to two hundred prints of moderate price, up 14 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS to £5 each (average of all will perhaps be about thirty to forty shillings), one can then become more dis- criminating and purchase only an occasional fine example by such artists as Kiyonaga, Shuncho, Koriusai, Harunobu, Yeishi, Shunsho, and so forth, and the rarer prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige. The period at which the Japanese colour-print was at its best, the golden age of the art, lay between the years 1765 and 1825, that is, from the time of the invention of the true polychrome print, about 1764, under the sway of Harunobu, down to the death of ToYOKUNi I. Excellent examples of the work of this period can still be obtained at quite moderate prices, some, of course, much more easily than others, but a collector should have little difficulty in ac- quiring a fairly representative set of prints issued between these dates. The writer's experience is that, amongst non- collectors, the impression prevails that the collecting of Japanese prints is an expensive hobby, and many would-be collectors are consequently afraid to indulge their artistic tastes therein. To remove this con- ception is one of the objects of this volume. As stated at the opening of this chapter, Japanese ON FORMING A COLLECTION 15 prints can be had at all prices, from a few shillings to many pounds. While the low-priced prints contain much worth- less rubbish, excellent landscape subjects by Hiroshige can be obtained for a pound or two, provided discrimination is used, as there is much work bearing his signature on the market, printed after his death, which is better avoided. A comparatively cheap print, provided it is a genuine old one and in good condition, is preferable to a modern reproduction of a rarity. It is difficult to give any general indications as to what should be paid for prints. Much depends on circumstances, and everything on condition. According to its state, a print might be worth £50, £$, or only £2. The writer has had excellent first edition copies of prints by Hiroshige offered him at ten to twenty shillings each, for which twice or thrice that sum has been given in an auction sale ; but the collector who obtains a really good Hiroshige print from one of his rarer series, in a first-class con- dition, for less than £2 or £3, is lucky. There is an enormous number of inferior Hiroshige prints in existence, which, from an artistic point i6 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS of view, are of very little value. So great was the demand for his work as a landscape artist (due chiefly to the fact that, for a certain period, from 1842 to 1854, prints of courtesans and actors were forbidden by law) that in order to produce prints in sufl&cient quantities the printing was hurried, so that the outUne and colours did not register, neither were the colours well graded. Again, many of his prints were reprinted in subsequent editions after his death, when the blocks had become worn through constant use, or were re- cut from an old print, and when European aniline coloiurs were becoming much used in Japan. Such late editions and reprints can be readily detected by the coarse outlines and vicious, staring colours. Prints of this nature will frequently be met with in his " One Hundred Views of Yedo " series, almost the last work he executed. Copies of the first edition in fine state are comparatively rare, and out of the total of 118 prints in the complete set, only about a third of them can be described as masterpieces, in which the design, printing, and colouring are excellent. The majority, unfortunately, are very inferior, and are evidently the work of his pupil, Hiroshige II., Ichivyiisat Hiroshige (17^6-1838) Night Revellers returning home at Daybreak from tJie Yoshiwara ; from the * ' Hundred Views of Yedo ' * series ( Urst cdiium) '.Key: i 2 3 _4 5 6 Aratamfe seal: Date seal : Snake 4 Publisher's seal : Hiro shige ^wa ('examined') —4tli month, 1857 U\vo-}ei — ■ ,- (drew) hue form 7 H g 10 Mei sho Ye do Iliaku (100) Kti (\'i< v,5) proDounce Hiak'kei Face p. re.} [Plate Xo. 4. ON FORMING A COLLECTION 17 whose aid he sometimes called in, as it is impossible to imagine from their crudeness that they can be the work of the great master. These remarks also apply to certain views in his last series, " Thirty-six Views of Fuji," a series which he did not live to complete, and perhaps, in a lesser degree, to his " Sixty-odd Provinces " (1856), and " Views on the Tokaido " (upright), (1855). Some authorities, particularly Japanese collectors, attribute the last-mentioned series entirely to Hiroshige II., but as they are dated three years before Hiroshige's death, and as it was contrary to etiquette, an etiquette most strictly ob- served, for two artists to work independently under the same name while either of them was still alive, the evidence that they are the work of the master rather than that of the pupil would seem to hold the field. This series, however, is generally of a lower order of merit than is usually associated with Hiroshige's work, and from the poor design and colouring of many of the prints in it, it seems fairly certain the pupil was called in to assist. Well and carefully-printed copies are rare, whereas poor ones with crude colouring are common. One of the best scenes in this series, when well printed, is the view of travellers entering the " B 1 8 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS village of Fujikawa under snow. Another good scene is the one here illustrated, Station Chiryu. {See Plate 5.) Mr. Happer, of New York, the well-known authority on Hiroshige, was the first collector to investigate thoroughly, chiefly by the date-seal found on each print, the question of the authorship of the various series signed Hiroshige. Previously it was thought all vertical prints so signed were by Hiroshige II., but this view is now pretty generally abandoned. Prints in which some large object, such as a tree- trunk, the mast of a ship, the body and legs of a horse, is thrust prominently into the foreground, blotting out the view and thus spoiling the whole effect of the picture, may generally be ascribed to Hiroshige II. Prints of this nature often occur in the " Hundred Views of Yedo " series, which, being the most exten- sive, contains a larger proportion of the pupil's work. His best contribution to this set is Plate no. 48, Akasaka Kiribata, which he supplied to later editions to take the place of the original block by Hiroshige which was accidentally damaged or destroyed, prob- ably by fire. It is signed " Hiroshige 2nd," and Ichiryusai Hikoshigk (1706-1858.) View of Chiryu on the Tokaido ; from the upright Tokaido series. ;Key: i Aratamfi seal : (' examined ') Hiro shig£: gwa (drew) 5 6 Date seal : Hare 7 Publisher's seal : = y\.h month, 185^ Tsuta-ya Juzaburo of Yedo. 789 10 II 12 13 14 13 Go-ju-san Tsiigi Mei sho aw vk Station No. (5x10+3)^53 ' (4Xio) = 4o"J Fare p. IH. \ ON FORMING A COLLECTION 19 is considered his best work so signed. It may also be distinguished from the first edition by being a rain-scene. In all the foregoing series first edition copies only are those worth collecting, later issues being of little value either materially or artistically. First edition copies in perfect state are comparatively rare, where- as later and inferior impressions outnumber them by at least fifty to one, perhaps a hundred to one. The former may be recognised, firstly, by having the publisher's seal and the date-seal upon them ; secondly, by being carefully printed and the colours well graded. Later impressions also often have an entirely different colour scheme, while the repellent harshness of the colours betrays them at once. In the " Hundred Views of Yedo " series, the seals will be found on the margin of the print {videViaie 4). Sometimes, as when prints of this series have been mounted in a book, the margins will be found to have been trimmed, thereby entirely or partly cutting off the seals ; an otherwise perfect impression may thus be spoilt. And here let us add a note of warning : never cut or trim prints in any way. Torn or rough edges 20 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS may be covered by a mount, holes in the print itself can be patched from the back, and for this purpose an old worthless print can be kept from which pieces of the right colour can be cut wherewith to make repairs. But beyond this a print should not be touched in anyway, and if the collector confines him- self to selecting only copies in a good state of preser- vation, there should be no necessity to do more. Seals and other marks on the margin of a print, outside the picture itself, should not be covered up, but the mount should be cut to show them. In the " Sixty-odd Provinces " series the seals appear sometimes on the print itself, and sometimes (though less frequently) on the margin. First edition copies have the publisher's seal, date-seal, two small round inspector's (or censor's) seals, and, in some views, the engraver's seal. Very early impressions will show the marks of the engraver's tools on the block, and the grain of the wood. The vertical " Tokaido " set has the date-seal and publisher's seal on the print itself, as has also the " Thirty-six Views of Fuji " series. While on the subject of date-seals, it should perhaps be pointed out that the seal 6y itself ON FORMING A COLLECTION 21 does not necessarily prove a print to be a first edition copy. Many dated prints, particularly in the " Hundred Views " series, are met ^vith which, by the poor printing and crude colours, cannot be first edition copies. As the date-seals were cut on the block at the time it was engraved, and not stamped on the finished print after being " pulled " from the block, the date thereon is no evidence as to the time of printing. Thus, though the " Views of Fuji " series is dated, on each print, 1858, it is stated in the preface on the title-page thereto that the designs were received in the spring of 1858, that the artist, Hiroshige, died in the autumn of the same year, and that they were published as a memorial to him in 1859, the date on the title-page. Of course the difference of a single year between the dates of engraving the blocks and issuing the prints, as in this instance, is of little account ; it is merely stated to show imphcit faith should not be placed in dates alone. It is when the difference amounts to a considerable period that prints cease to be first edition copies. A dated print, therefore, should be judged by its 22 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS condition to determine if it is a first edition or not ; that is to say, the printing should be well done, the colours carefully graded and not staring aniline dyes. At the same time, a collector who sets out to obtain a complete set of a series must not expect to find even first editions of uniform excellence ; the masterpieces are, unfortunately, few. This may have been due to the artist superintending the printing of those views only which pleased him most, pr which he thought would be more popular. To revert to the question of prices, experience is the only real guide as to what should be paid for any particular print. Provided a print is in good condition, colours fresh, outline sharp, paper not discoloured nor worm-eaten, it is as a rule worth its price. Fresh colours, however, are not in themselves evidence of an early impression. As a block re- quired continually re-charging with fresh colour, a very late impression might easily show good colour ; one should look instead at the sharpness of the outline. Poor copies, in which colours are badly faded, or the printing is faulty, or in which other defects are apparent, are best left alone, unless the print is some Ichiyynsai Hiroshige (174)6-1858]. Fuji from the Musashi Tama River; one of tlie " Tliirly-six \'iews of Fuji " series (first ettition). ' Key : r- „■ .■: 3 4 5 6 789 lvhich are characteristic of all old prints, are lacking in modern ones. In this category (i.e., of modern work) should also be included prints issued between the years 1865 and FORGERIES, IMITATIONS, REPRINTS 37 1880, in which the technique employed was the same as in genuine old prints. Such prints, by their crude and glaring colours made from anihne dyes, and often careless printing, which shock every artistic sense, may be dismissed at once as worthless. Sometimes, however, the actual printing is very good, the outline being sharp and the register perfect, showing that the technique employed could be as excellent as formerly, but was nullified by the bad colours used. It is just the prints of this period of which there is such an abundance, and against which the novice should be warned, as he is apt, otherwise, in his newly-formed enthusiasm, to imagine that such constitute the famous old colour-prints of Japan. Such, also, are the prints that a collector who goes to Japan is Ukely to pick up, when he would do better to confine his activities to London. Japan itself has been ransacked long ago by collectors and art dealers from Europe and America, who have left behind only the late and worthless specimens. The Japanese did not realise, thirty to forty years ago, what art treasures they were allowing to leave the 38 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS country, and now, all too late, they are regretting their loss and are endeavouring to buy back at far higher prices, both for private and public collections, the prints they once sold for a few pence. This previous lack of appreciation for a native art was largely due to the plebeian origin of these prints. The subjects portrayed were such as appealed only to the masses, being largely either theatrical or dealing with the inmates of the Yoshiwara, both subjects being taboo with the aristocracy, who would have nothing to do with the theatre, the people who patronised it, or the artists who drew it. In fact, the artists of the Ukiyoye School were looked down upon by the aristocracy as almost the lowest members of society. The result was the art of the colour-print artist had no wealthy patrons to save it to the country of its origin against the competition of the foreign dealer and collector. Also, at the time Japan was opened to foreigners, in 1868, so great was the desire to acquire the products of Western civilisation for their own profit and enjoyment, that they neglected their own arts, even if they did not actually despise them. The inevitable reaction FORGERIES, IMITATIONS, REPRINTS 39 quickly set in when they realised their mistake, but not before the foreign collector had had time to acquire a considerable quantity of their art products, and particularly their colour-prints. CHAPTER IV SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL The total number of colour-print artists, from the commencement of the school down to i860, lies between 250 and 300 names. This large number includes artists of varsdng degrees of ability and productivity and, considering the relatively short life of the school, gives us an idea of its wide popu- larity ; but the number with which the collector need concern himself is considerably less than this total ; a collection which contained examples by half this number would be a very large one. For example, the Happer collection sold at Sotheby's in 1909, one of the largest private col- lections ever put up to auction, contained prints by 182 different artists. The Swettenham collection, another very large collection, sold in 1912, was representative of a hundred artists ; while of the 40 ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 41 Baker and Hilditch collections, sold last year, the former contained about a hundred and the latter about eighty artists. The art is generally divided into three or four periods ; (i.) the Primitives, from the foundation of the school by Matabei to the invention of the true polychrome print in the time of Harunobu (c. 1765) ; («.) the second period, from 1765 to the death of Utamaro in 1806 ; {in.) the third period, 1806 to 1825 ; and the fourth, the decline from 1825 to i860. A fifth period, known as the downfall, from i860 onwards, might be added, but the work of this period, as pointed out in our last chapter, is so inferior that it hardly merits attention except, perhaps, from the historical point of view. Of the above periods the second and third repre- sent the colour-print at its best, the first being mainly one of development. It is not proposed in these pages to do more than give a brief summary of the better-known artists, such as a collector is likely to meet with at the beginning. Detailed historical accounts of them and their work are left to larger volumes on the subject. Some names, however, cannot be omitted 42 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS even in a brief survey such as this, on historical •grounds, and even though their prints are to-day very scarce and but rarely met with. Other artists, again, confined themselves to illustrating books, a branch of print-designing somewhat outside our scope. Amongst the Primitives, Matabei and Moronobu have already been mentioned. There is also Torii KiYONOBU (1664-1729), the founder of the Torii sub-school, a school which applied itself chiefly to theatrical subjects. He was followed by KiYOMASU (1679-1762), whose work to-day is rare. The third head of the Torii school was Kiyomitsu (1735- 1785), son of KiYOMASU. Contemporary with the Torii school was the Okumura school, founded by Okumura Masanobu (1685-1764), one of the most eminent of the early artists. He started life as a bookseller and publisher, and during his life as a colour-print artist used other names, Hogetsudo being, perhaps, the most frequent, in addition to that by which he is generally known. He is said to have invented the lacquer-print, in which lacquer is used to heighten the colours, and his prints are remarkable for the richness of effect produced with ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE JSCHOOL 43 only the use of two colours in addition to the black of the outline block. In von Seidlitz's " History of Japanese Colour-Prints," at p. 6, is reproduced in colours a two-colour print by Toyonobu, the original of which is in the British Museum, which gives an excellent idea of the beauty and richness of effect which these early artists were able to produce with such simple means. Prints by Masanobu are very scarce. Toyonobu was an important artist of this period, whose later work carries us into the second period. He Hved from 1711 to 1785. We now come to Harunobu (1725-1770), who, by making full use of improvements at this time dis- covered by a certain printer and engraver in the art of colour-printing, brought into being the true polychrome print. He shunned actors, whom he despised, and turned his brush to the portrayal of women. Most of his prints are a small, almost square size, and are the earliest examples in which a background is introduced. We have already referred to forgeries. Haru- nobu only worked as a colour-print artist about ten or twelve years. During the Meiwa period (1764- 177 1) there was a great demand by the pubhc for 44 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS his prints, and after his death Shiba Kokan (1747- 1818) was employed by his publisher to imitate them. This he did, usually not signing his pro- ductions, but sometimes signing them Suzuki Harunobu. He also imitated Harunobu over the signature of Harushige, thus pretending, by using the prefix " Haru," to be his pupil. Shiba Kokan wrote his memoirs, which were published after his death, and he therein boldly states that he had forged many of the most popular prints signed Harunobu. If Kokan could deceive the public of his day, it is hardly to be expected that we shall be any cleverer in the twentieth century ; but the collector may rest satisfied with the thought that what was good enough for the art-loving Japanese in 1775 is good enough for him, and that Kokan must have been a consummate artist. What the collector, however, should be on his guard against are modern forgeries of Harunobu, who is one of the few artists who have been forged or reproduced during the last twenty years or so to any extent. The chief warning against them are the muddy colours ; but in suspicious cases it ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 45 is better, if possible, to compare them with un- doubted genuine examples. Almost as famous as Harunobu is Koriusai, who worked from 1760 to 1780, and who is best known by his long, narrow pillar-prints (hashira-ye), measuring about 27 inches by 5 inches. As these pillar-prints were intended for internal decoration and use, to hang on the pillars (hashira) of a house, far fewer in proportion have survived to our day than is the case with the ordinary full-size sheet. Doubtless a large number were lost in the fires which broke out so frequently and with such widespread destruction in Japanese villages and towns ; and that so many prints have survived at all to delight the art-lover of the twentieth century is probably due to the fact that they were not, as a rule, kept in the living-rooms, but were stored in a go-down outside the house, or in a cellar. Consequently these pillar-prints are very rare. Apart from their beauty, the wonderful talent displayed in the amount of composition, yet withal without crowding, portrayed on a sheet but five inches wide, excites our admiration for the designers of these narrow prints. Koriusai was one of the few 46 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS cases of an artist of the Ukiyoye school who was not of the artisan class. He was a Samurai, or feudal retainer to a Daimyo and, on the death of his master, became a Ronin, that is, unattached, and took up the calling of an artist as a means of livelihood. In signing his prints he sometimes dropped the final syllable of his name, putting only Koriu. Katsukawa Shunsho (1726-1792) is another important artist, whose work consists chiefly of actor portraits, often in hoso-ye form, which are not very rare, thanks to his large output, but vary in quality. A distinguished follower of his is Ippitsusai BUNCHO (w. 1764-1796), but his prints are exceedingly rare. We now come to Kiyonaga (1742-1815), who became the fourth head of the Torii school, and in whom and his immediate followers and contempor- aries the colour-print reached its highest excellence. His triptyches are particularly fine. The best examples of his work are naturally very rare, as, being amongst a collector's prized possessions, they rarely come into the market except when his collec- tion is dispersed after his death. With the exercise of patience, however, examples of Kiyonaga 's work ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 47 may be picked up, but one must not expect to do so for an expenditure of less than £^ or £6, even for a somewhat discoloured print, while a good copy will fetch at least ;^I0 to £15. A pupil of Shunsho, but a follower of Kiyonaga in style, was Katsukawa Shuncho, who worked from about 1770 to 1800. Owing to the similarity of sound, Shunsho and Shuncho may be confused, but the written characters " cho " and " sho " differ con- siderably. In the same way the " sho " in Yeisho differs from the " sho " in Shunsho. The collector will come across other instances of differently written characters having the same sound, e.g., Shunsen and Yeise«. Shuncho's work is the equal of Kiyonaga 's, but it is rare. Another pupil of the Katsukawa school, with examples of whose work the collector is likely to meet, is Shunsen, pupil of Shunyei (1769-1819), who worked between the years 1790 and 1820. He designed both figure studies and landscapes, and a colour scheme he employed of rose-pink, apple- green, and a slatey-blue is very pleasing. He also did book-illustrations. Shunyei, his master, is 48 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS known by his actor portraits. Other Katsukawa pupils are Shunzan {w. 1776-1800), and Shuntei (1769-1820) ; prints by both these are rare. Utagawa TOYOHARU (1733-1814) chiefly claims attention as the founder of the Utagawa sub-school, and as the pioneer of purely landscape drawings in the Ukiyoye school. It was one of his pupils, Toyohiro, who trained the great Hiroshige, with Hokusai the greatest landscape artist of Japan; and another pupil, Toyokuni, had innumerable followers, so that the Utagawa school was the most numerous of any, and carried the art, though in a very debased form, down to modern times. Toyoharu's prints are very rare. Upon the retirement of Kiyonaga from the field of colour-print designing, we enter upon the period of Utamaro (1754-1806) and his contemporaries. Utamaro was the son and pupil of Toriyama Sekiyen, a painter of the Chinese School, and was one of the most graceful and popular of the Ukiyoye artists. He is among the best known to European collectors, his being the first colour-prints to be seen in Europe, and he is famous for his beautiful figure studies of women, which place him in almost the first ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 49 rank of Japanese artists. Towards the end of his career, however, his figures lose much of their grace by reason of the exaggerations he employs, drawn out as they are to an impossible length, till one expects to see them collapse altogether. The Utamaro style is thus well described by von Seidlitzin his " History of Japanese Colour-Prints " : " He created an absolutely new type of female beauty. At first he was content to draw the head in normal proportions and quite definitely round in shape ; only the neck on which this head was posed was already notably slender. . . . Towards the middle of the tenth decade these exaggerated proportions of the body had reached such an extreme that the heads were twice as long as they were broad, set upon slim, long necks, which in turn swayed upon very narrow shoulders ; the upper coiffure bulged out to such a degree that it almost surpassed the head itself in extent ; the eyes were indicated by short slits and were separated by an inordinately long nose from an infinitesimally small mouth ; the soft robes hung loosely about figures of an almost unearthly thinness." 50 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS About the year 1800 these exaggerations were still further increased, so that the head was three times as long as broad, and the figure more than eight times longer than the head. Most of his large head-studies date at this period. His triptyches, however, of which he produced a large number, do not show these exaggerations, except that the figures are very tall and quite unlike any real Japanese woman. This trait, however, was common to practically all artists who portrayed the human figure, and was more or less an artistic con- vention as an expression of idealism. It would also appear that the size of a figure was governed largely by its importance in the general composition as the central figure of the design, rather than in pro- portion to its surroundings. Thus, in a print belong- ing to the writer by Kiyomine, representing three famous tea-house beauties on parade with their three kamuro or attendants, the three beauties are strapping young amazons of six foot six, while their attendants barely reach their waists. Utamaro's signature is one of the first with which a collector will become acquainted, as it is one of the easiest to recognise. Kis early work can Kitagawa Utamaro (i754'-iSo6). Marionette Lovers being worked above a screen by a man and woman behind it. [Key. 12 3 4 Uta rnaro fmii: „ Publisher: -— : (with brush) Moriji. early form Face p. 50. \ ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 51 be distinguished from his later by the form of the signature, apart from the differences in the drawing of the figures already noted. In the former it is compact and more carefully written ; in the latter it tends to sprawl, is written larger, and the character for the first half of the name " Uta," is finished off with a long tail which does not appear in his early work. The print illustrated at page 50 shows his early form of signature. It is his later straggling form which is found on prints done by his pupils and imitators (vide print by Utamaro II. illustrated at page 52*). Toyokuni is said to have forged some of Utamaro 's prints, signature and all. Owing to the manner in which his prints were forged by contemporaries, Utamaro sometimes signed himself " Shomei Utamaro," that is, the real Utamaro, thus signifying particular approval of his * The outline block of the print by Utamaro II. here illustrated may be seen in the Department of Illustration and Design at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. On comparing it with this print, which is an early impression, it will be noticed that the original artist's signature has been erased and re-cut on the opposite edge, while tihie kiwame seal and publisher's mark have been taken out altogether, owing, no doubt, iio their having become worn. The wistaria does not appear, and was probably cut on a separate block for use on other prints of the same series, though only this one has come under observation. A set of modem blocks, with proofs therefrom by a Japanese printer, has been cut from pulls taken from the outline block, in order to show the various stages in printing the colours. 52 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS own work ; but prints with this form of signature are very rare. Utamaro is best known by his figure studies of women, but he also drew landscapes, bird, animal, and flower studies, and a large number of book- illustrations. He had numerous pupils and followers, who may be classed as the Toriyama school, taking the name from Toriyama Sekiyen, the father and teacher of Utamaro. At his death in 1806, his pupil, Koikawa Shuncho, married his widow, an apparently not uncommon proceeding with pupils — Gosotei Toyokuni, for ex- ample — and assumed the name of his great master till 1820, when he changed it to Tetsugoro. Many prints signed Utamaro are undoubtedly the work of this second Utamaro, and it is sometimes difiicult to say which of them. Generally, however, the difference in the drawing of the figure and face affords the clue, and sometimes the prints are seal- dated, which determines their origin at once. Another, and perhaps the best pupil and real suc- cessor to Utamaro, was Shikimaro (w. 1790-1805), whose work is graceful and with pleasant colour- Utamaro II (ni. 1807-1830. A Geisha making her salutation, and her maid standing beliind holding lier samiseit box. (c. 180S.) [Key: 1234 5 Uta maro fttde Publisher^ Kiwame seal : (with brush) Moriji ('perfect') Fare p. 52. _. [Plate So. 10. ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 53 ing. Mention should also be made of Kikumaro {w. 1789-1829), who, after about 1795, changed his name to Tsukimaro. Other pupils may be identified by the sufl&x " maro " to their names. As mentioned in a former chapter, forgeries, imita- tions, and modern reprints of Utamaro's work are rather common, particularly of some of his famous and rare triptyches. Thanks to his large output, genuine Utamaro prints are not very difficult to ob- tain, but of course examples of his earlier and better work are less readily procured than his later output. It is not easy, however, to find copies in first-class condition, the paper being often discoloured by ex- posure to the fumes of charcoal, which, of course, con- siderably reduces their value. This was due to their having been at one time used to decorate screens and paper partitions in Japanese houses. Utamaro prints are worth from two to three or five pounds upwards, according to their importance and condition, till we reach his fine triptyches at £20 or £30, up to £100 for a fine copy of a very rare example, while £300 has been asked for a well-pre- served set of his famous " silkworm " print complete in twelve sheets. This print represents the whole pro- 54 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS cess of the production of silk, from the raising of the silkworm to weaving the material, and is one of his prints which has been extensively forged or repro- duced. One of the prints of this set is reproduced in colours in Von Seidlitz's " History of Japanese Prints," at page 126, from a copy in the British Museum. Another famous and very rare print is a triptych representing women diving for shell-fish, which has also been reproduced. Mention should also be made of his triptych re- presenting the production of colour-prints by women, showing the various stages, from the first design to the finished print. Kunisada has closely copied this triptych. Toriyama Sekiyen trained one other artist of the first rank, Yeishosai Choki, also known as Shiko, a name which he adopted towards the end of his career. Opinions appear to differ, however, on this point, though the balance seems to be in favour of Choki being the earlier name of this artist. This opinion is borne out by the fact that work so signed is more after the style of Kiyonaga, while that signed Shiko more closely follows Utamaro, whose style Yeishnsai Choki f?i'. 1785-1805). Procession of Yoshiwara beauties at New Year Festival ; one sheet of a triptych. Key : I 2 Cho ki (Naga) (yoshi) 3 4 5 git^Lt Kiwame senl Publisher : (drew) ('perfect') Tsiita->, Fact p. SI. I [Plule \o. It. ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 55 did not come into vogue till after the retirement of Kiyonaga from the world of art about 1795, though the latter outhved Utamaro by nine years. Owing to this difference of style it was at one time thought that Choki and Shiko were two different artists, though practically httle or nothing is known of him except what we can gather from his prints, but these are very rare. He worked between the years 1785 and 1805. The signature Choki may also be read Naga-yoshi, but the former is the name by which he is more generally known, though continental collectors appear to prefer the latter transcription. CHAPTER V ARTISTS OF THE UKiYOYE SCHOOL (Continued) Utamaro's principal rival, particulariy towards the end of his (Utamaro's) career, was Toyokuni (1769- 1825), the chief pupil of Toyoharu. Toyokuni 's early work consists mostly of studies of women, thus following the style of Utamaro. After the death of the latter he turned his attention to actors, and at one time was looked upon as the actor painter of Japan. His best work is considered his series of actor-portraits in hoso-ye form issued about 1800, but all his early work is good. After Utamaro's death, however, he confined himself to large actor-portraits almost entirely, and from this date his work began to deteriorate, his actors eventually becoming Httle better than caricatures, with their exaggerated features, squint-eyed, long-nosed, and wry-mouthed, exaggerations which were carried to repulsiveness by his pupil, Kunisada. Toyokuni 's output was prolific ; but this designa- 56 ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 57 tion chiefly applies to his later work, of which much survives to-day. His early work is comparatively rare, and may be distinguished, apart from the better quality of the work both in drawing and colouring, by the signature being more carefully written, and in smaller characters. Attention has already been drawn to the various artists following Toy okuni who adopted his name, and the way in which they may be distinguished both from one another and from Toyokuni himself. Toyokuni's prints being fairly numerous, prices range from 15 to 20 shillings or so for relatively unimportant single sheets, to £3 or £5 for good examples of his early work, up to £30 and ,^50 for particularly fine triptyches. A rare pentaptych, or five-sheet print will, perhaps, be worth £80. ToyoHiRO (1773-1828) was a fellow-pupil of Toyokuni. His chief claim to fame hes in his having trained the great Hiroshige ; as an artist he was far outdistanced in popularity by the much more productive Toyokuni. While the latter devoted himself to actors, Toyohiro followed his master's preference for landscapes ; but, owing to his comparatively small output, his prints are rare. 58 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS Another contemporary with Utamaro, and an artist whose work is of charming delicacy and refine- ment, was Hosoda Yeishi, who worked between the years 1780 and 1810. He is another of the few in- stances known of a print-designer not being of the artisan class, Yeishi being originally a Samurai who first studied painting in the aristocratic Kano school, with the result that his prints are more dehcate and refined than were those of most contemporary and later Ukiyoye artists. His figures, also, are more natural than those of Utamaro, and do not exhibit the latter's exaggerations. Many of his prints have a beautiful pale yellow background, and the collector is lucky who comes across one of these prints to-day in all its pristine lovehness. Unfortunately, this pale yellow is hable to fade with age, unless in the past it has been care- fully kept from over-exposure to the hght. The subjects he portrayed are beautifully-attired ladies in various light occupations. He also did a series of small, almost square prints about the same size as a surimono, also with a pale yellow background, depicting the popular courtesans of the day, on parade with their attendants. He Hosoda Yeishi (w. 1780,1800). A Lady pointing witli tier fan to a small inset landscape scene ; medium size print Key: 123 4 5 Yei ^hi zne Riwame seal Publisher : (picturel ('perfect') Yeijudo of Yeilo Face p, 5S.'^ [PlaU No. 12. ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 59 likewise designed some remarkably fine triptyches, examples of which number amongst a collector's greatest print treasures and in consequence are rarely in the market. Such, needless to say, fetch very high prices. Lesser prints by Yeishi fetch about the same price as similar examples by Utamaro, but as his output was considerably less — at least far fewer are in existence to-day — the average of his better prints is higher. But even a relatively minor print by Yeishi has so much charm that an opportunity to obtain an example should not be missed. Modern reproductions of prints by Yeishi are very common, and the collector should carefully examine all examples bearing his signature. Yeishi was the founder of a sub-school, named after his family name the Hosoda school, and had several pupils, of whom the most important were Yeisho, Yeisui, Yeishin, and Yeiri, all of whose work is rarer, in some instances considerably rarer, than that of Yeishi himself. Hosoda Yeiri must not be confused with Rekisentei Yeiri, who worked about 1810. He sometimes signed himself " Yeiri, pupil of Yeishi," to avoid this confusion. 6o JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS Yeizan (Kikugawa) has already been referred to as a rival and imitator of Utamaro. He was a pupil at first of his father, Kano Yeiji, and worked as a colour-print artist between the years 1804 and 1829. His large heads, after the style of Utamaro, are very fine, but his later work, when he took to cop3dng Kunisada's full-length figures of courtesans, is not so good. They tend to become exaggerated, as Kunisada's were, and overloaded with design, and are the work of an artist who became a pure cop5dst, without any originality of his own to work upon, one print being very like another. Owing, however, to the fact that he ceased design- ing colour-prints about 1829, after which date he turned his attention to literature and the illustrating of books, his prints never exhibit the crude colouring of Kunisada's later work. Taken all round, however, Yeizan deserves a higher place amongst the Ukiyoye artists than he is generally given. He may have followed other artists, and had little originaUty of his own, but his early designs are boldly drawn and graceful, while the colours are well chosen. Yeizan's work is fairly easily obtained, and in good condition, as he produced a large number of Kikugawa Yki2a.\ (w. 1800-1829) Full length portrait of a Geisha : inset a playing card with portrait of the poetess, Sei-sho-nagon. {V cry early li'OYh) . Key : I Yei earliest form 3 % 5 fud^ (0 Date cypher ; Publisher: (with brtish) (?)c.*i8oo ^'i^za-kna F(ue p. 60.] [Plate Xi: 13. ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 6i prints. Many of them are seal-dated, and any up to 1810 are good ; but his late work (c. 1820-1829) follows too much the exaggerated and over-dressed figures of Kunisada, though he avoids the latter's glaring colours. Another artist of this period, somewhat similar in name, is Keisai Yeisen (1789-1848). Von Seid- litz wrongly states him to be a pupil of Yeizan, owing no doubt to the fact that the first syllable of both their names is "Yei." Yeisen, however, was a pupil of Hakukeisai, the last half of whose name he took for his first, Keisai. Also the styles, both in colour and design, of Yeizan and Yeisen differ too much for the latter to have been a pupil of the former. Again, Yeisen was a more original designer thaa Yeizan, and did both landscapes and figure studies, whereas Yeizan confined himself to the drawing of women, though he often used a landscape background in his triptyches. Yeisen's best work was done in land- scape, being collaborator with Hiroshige for the series of " Sixty-nine Stations on the Kiso Road." His masterpieces are two very &neyiakemono-ye worthy to rank with similar masterpieces of Hokusai and Hiroshige ; one a moonUght scene with a bridge 62 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS across a stream in the foreground, and behind high mountain-peaks — a fit companion to Hiroshige's " Monkey bridge " kakemono-ye. This print is ex- ceedingly rare, a very fine copy changing hands in the Happer sale for £84. The other is a design of a carp, the Japanese emblem of perseverance, leap- ing up a waterfall, better known than the former as being less rare, and worth about £8 to £10, according to its condition. Other good prints by him in land- scape are his series of waterfalls in imitation of the set by Hokusai. These also are rare. His figure studies, which are fairly numerous and not difficult to obtain, are the output of his later years. The collector should not miss the opportunity of pick- ing up good copies of his blue prints, in which the whole design is printed in blue ; their effect is very pleasing, even though the actual drawing may not be of a very high order. He also designed some good surimono. He signs himself in full, Keisai Yeisen, or Yeisen only, or Keisai only. In the latter case he should not be confused with KeisM, a designer of surimono and pupil of Hokkei, whose full name is Kiko Keisu. KiYOMiNE (1786-1868) was the fifth and prac- Keisat Yeisen (i789-i.S4.S.' Blue Print : Portrait of Hana-mura-saki of Tama-ya ; inset view of Tama-chi , one of the " Eight Views of Northern District ' ' (of Yedo) , i.e., the Yoshiwara. [Key: 12345 6 7 Kei sai Yei sen gwa Kiwam^ seal : Publisher: (drew) (' piii-fecl ') Tsuta-ya] Face p. 62.} [Plati .Vo. /.;. ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 63 tically the last master of the Torii school. He was a pupil of the great Kiyonaga, and his prints are rather rare, and are characterised by their graceful- ness and pleasant colouring. The print by him here reproduced (Plate 15) is re- markable in that the outUnes of the face, hand, and wrist are printed in pink, the colour of the sake cup, and is called nikuzuri, meaning " flesh-colour." Such printing is extremely rare, and is found only in a few prints by Kiyomine and Utamaro. We now come to the numerous pupils and followers of Toyokuni, forming the Utagawa school. Of this school, KuNiSADA (1785-1865) is by far the best known, on account of his enormous produc- tivity, his total output probably equaUing, if it did not exceed, that of any two other artists combined. It even exceeded the output of Hiroshige, prolific as he was. In fact, so prodigious was the number of his prints towards the end of his^career, that Kun- isada did no more than the first outline drawing of a print, leaving his pupils to carry out the colour- scheme, and exercising no supervision over his printers. The result is seen in a complexity of design, meaningless elaboration of detail, crudeness 64 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS of colouring, and often bad register in printing which is so characteristic of a large number of prints bearing his signature, particularly in those signed with his later name of Toyokuni. In fact, his in- numerable actor-portraits of this period are little better than caricatures, with all the later eccen- tricities and exaggerations of his master, Toyokuni, magnified tenfold, and further intensified by the shrieking colours. The only work of Kunisada really worth the col- lector's attention are his early landscapes, but unfortunately these are very rare. A good, but uncommon, set of half-block-size prints by him is a series of Tokaido views copied, in some cases, almost line for hne from Hiroshige's Tokaido series pubUshed by Hoyeido, with a large figure of a geisha in the foreground. Some of these are signed " To order, Kunisada," as if to throw the blame for his plagiarism of Hiroshige's work upon his pub- hsher, Sanoki. His one really fine design in figure studies is his portrait of Hiroshige, to which reference has been made ; and speaking generally, and bearing in mind the very low average of his work as an artist in such Torii KiYOMiNE (1787 1868). Woman holding out a sake cup ; one of a series : ' ' Beautiful Women and Yedo Brocades compared." iKey: I Kiyo 3 4 fud^ Publisher : (with brush) Yeijudo of Yedoj Face p. 64. \ ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 65 prints by him as are usually met with, a collector might do worse than ignore Kunisada altogether. His memorial portrait of Hiroshige was done in the year of the latter 's death (1858), and on it is a long and very interesting inscription in which occurs the following passage : "At the present time Hiroshige, Kunisada, and Kuniyoshi are considered the three great masters of Ukiyoye ; no others equal them : Hiroshige was especially noted for landscape." Omitting Hiroshige, who stood apart in a class by himself, this passage is a striking commentary on the state to which the art of the colour-print artist had fallen by the middle of the last century. If Kunisada was considered far and away one of the chief artists of his time — at a date, too, when he was almost at his worst in his ordinary work — it only proves how terrible the rest must have been. Kunisada often collaborated with Hiroshige in the design of triptyches, in which the landscape is done by the latter and the large figures in the fore- ground by Kunisada. Or again, the left and right panels will be the work of one artist and the centre panel that of the other. Kunisada, solely by reason of the quantity of his dd JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS work, was considered the head of Toyokuni's school, as is shown by his eventually appropriating to him- self his teacher's name ; but Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) was easily the better artist. He did some good land- scapes> many deserving to rank with those of Hiroshige, while his figure studies are strongly drawn, often with a humorous touch. His colours, though sometimes weak, are rarely the crude and hideous colours of Kunisada, while he frequently makes a very effective use of masses of black. A very fine, but at the same time rare, set of prints by Kuniyoshi depicts incidents from the life of the priest Nichiren, Ko%o go Ichidai Rya-ku zu ye (" An Abridged Biography of Koso, illustrated ") {vide ch. VII for details) in ten scenes. Von Seidlitz quotes one scene — Nichiren on a pilgrimage in the snow, the best print of this series — ^as a single print, being apparently unaware that it forms one of a set ; the set, at least, is not mentioned by him amongst Kuniyoshi's works. Another celebrated series is his set of scenes depicting the twenty-four paragons of filial piety, which are remarkable for their curious application of European pictorial ideas to a Chinese subject, a \4 ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL e-j but which detracts from them as works of art. Yet another famous set is his forty-seven scenes from the drama " Chushingura," the largest set in wliich this play has been depicted. Generally it is portrayed in eleven, twelve, and sometimes sixteen scenes. Kunisada has left a set in eleven triptyches. None of the above series are at all common, but examples of Kuniyoshi's prints are not difficult to pick up. Toyokuni's other pupils are mostly too unimport- ant to be mentioned individually. Four, however; who died before the art of the colour-printer was so far advanced towards decay, and before crude aniline colours became the custom, deserve mention, because their work is, for these reasons, superior to their contemporaries : KUNIMASA I. (1772-1810), whose portraits of actors are very good, and who had a reputation even higher than that of his master. His prints are very uncommon. KUNINAGA, who died about 1810. KuNiNAO (o). 1820), who first studied art in the Chinese School, afterwards becoming a pupil of Toyokuni. His prints are not common, and his 68 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS figure studies are notable for their grace and elegance. KuNiYASU (1800-1830), whose prints are also uncommon and are much above the average of his fellow-pupils, his colours being well chosen. He also designed surimono. His prints comprise both figure studies, landscapes, and seascapes. (See Plate 17.) The numerous followers of Kunisada and Kuni- yoshi need not detain us long. Those of the former, together with pupils of Hokusai, formed what is known as the Osaka school, a school which came into existence at Osaka about 1825, and is mainly notable for the production of surimono. Previous to this date, the art of the colour-printer was solely confined to Yedo, where it originally started. Sad ABIDE (c. 1840), one of the best of Kunisada's pupils,worked in landscapes in the style of Hiroshige. His prints are good of their kind, considering the lateness of the period at which he worked. Sadamasu {w. 1830 to 1850) also worked in the style of Hiroshige. His work is not common and is distinctly above the average of the period. A good fan print by him is illustrated at Plate 2. Hasegawa Sadanobu (c. 1840) designed both actor prints and landscapes, but in the case of the o m 00 6 o CO 3 i^ ::d o ARTISTS OF THE UKIYOYE SCHOOL 69 latter appears to have been not satisfied with merely following the style of Hiroshige, but needs must copy him line for line. For example, a view by him of Lake Biwa,with wild geese alighting on the water, is practically a reproduction of the same scene in a half-block set of Lake Biwa views by Hiroshige. This scene Is illustrated in the catalogue of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Kuniyoshi's pupils continued to work at Yedo. Of these Yoshitora {w. 1850) was, perhaps, one of the best, his colours being as a rule less offensive than is generally the case with prints of this date. He designed figure studies, landscapes, and battle- scenes. YosHiTOSHi {w. 1860-1890) was another pupil who is worth mention as being above the general run of contemporary artists. The pupils of Kunisada may be recognised by the adoption of the second half of their master's name, " sada," as the first of their own, e.g., Sada-hide, Sada-nobu ; though some adopted the first part, " Kuni," e.g., Kuni-chika, Kuni-hisa, Kuni-mori, and others. Kunimori at first signed himself Horai JO JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS (or Kochoyen) Harumasu, his signature of Kuni- mori being a later one adopted on his joining the school of Kunisada. In the same way Kuniyoshi's pupils all begin their names with the prefix Yoshi, e.g., Yoshi-tora, Yoshi-kuni, Yoshi-kazu. Two independent artists remain to be mentioned before turning to the great landscape artists, Hoku- sai and Hiroshige, and their pupils. Shojo KiosAi (1831-1889), whose bird studies are remarkable, may be reckoned as the last of the old school of print designers of the first rank. Had he lived earlier, before the advent of aniline colours, his prints, which are not common, would have been esteemed even higher ; but his work unfortunately suffers from the inferior colours used. The other artist is Sugakudo, who worked about 1845, and who has designed an excellent series of bird and flower studies in forty-eight plates, which number amongst a collector's favourite examples. The print most coveted by collectors in this series is the drawing of a large red parrot, being Number .:o in the series, which is entitled Sho Utsushi Shi-ju hachi (48) Taka : " Exact Representations of Forty-eight Hawks " (i.e., birds). SuGAKUDO (r. i'S45^ Moor-hen and White Wistaria, from the series "Exact Likenesses of Forty-eight Birds J o ^ '3 THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS ']^ Hokusai ; yet at the same time he remains essentially Japanese. Hiroshige gives us the effect of atmosphere and mist, sunrise and sunset, snow and rain, in his designs, which Hokusai, with his sharper and more vigorous outline, does not. The latter 's scenes are full of that restless activity which reflects his own untiring energy, an energy which nothing could damp, while misfortune merely spurred him to greater effort. Hiroshige's designs, on the other hand, are gen- erally calm and peaceful. These divergent char- acteristics are well shown in Hokusai 's " Great Wave," a picture contrasting the all-devouring force of nature and the littleness of man, and Hiroshige's "Autumn Moon on the Tama River," from his " Eight Environs of Yedo " series, con- sidered one of his masterpieces in landscapes, a scene of infinite peace and quietude. Of like nature is his "Homing Geese at Katada," one of his "Eight Views of Lake Biwa" series, representing a flock of geese flying to rest at twilight. It is not easy to compare, artistically, the work of these two masters. Much of Hiroshige's work is of a later period than that of Hokusai. Hiroshige's 78 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS earliest work is assigned to the year 1820 ; Hokusai had produced prints before 1800. The entirely different colour-schemes employed also render it difficult to make comparisons ; towards the end of his career the work of Hiroshige suffers much by reason of the poor quality of the colours used by his printers. His best work, namely, his Tokaido series of full-sized oblong landscape views, is equal to anything Hokusai produced; but on the whole it must be said that the latter's work shows a much higher average quality throughout, whereas that of Hiroshige varies to a considerable extent, many of his later series containing some very inferior designs, apart from those obviously the work of his pupil. Though this faUing-off was no doubt due to in- creasing age, yet in the case of Hokusai, who lived very nearly half as long again as Hiroshige, his work shows practically no traces of advancing years. As he himself says, he did not expect to become a really great artist till he had reached the age of eighty, while he was dissatisfied with everything which he had produced prior to his seventieth year. FenoUosa, one of the leading authorities on the o CO 6 o 00 o a S THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS 79 artists of the Ukiyoye, while he classes Hokusai in the first rank, puts Hiroshige in the third only, though his classification refers to them as painters, while he does not specifically class them as colour-print designers. Opinions, of course, differ as to the order of merit of the Ukiyoye artists. Many collectors would put both Hokusai and Hiroshige in the first rank. The writer is inclined to steer a middle course and place Hokusai in the first rank, as practically all are agreed but Hiroshige in the second. Again, the fact that the artist only supplied the design, which was destroyed on cutting the outline, or key-block, and gave instructions as to the colours to be employed, somewhat modifies the answer to the question, " Is the work of one artist better, or of greater value, than that of another ? " as the artist is almost entirely at the mercy of his engraver and printer, upon whose combined skill the excellence of the finished print depends. Added to this, there must be taken into account the fact that the same engraver and printer might be employed upon the designs of more than one artist, in just the same way that a printer does not confine himself to producing 8o JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS the books of only one writer. It is to be regretted that the engravers of these prints are almost totally lost in obUvion, and that nothing is known of them, and only a comparatively few prints bear their mark, as it is due to them that the most beautiful pictorial art in the world came into being, or at least in such a form that it could be enjoyed by thousands where a single painting is but the delight of a select few. A print is associated onfy with the artist whose signature it bears, or whose work it is known to be, or, in doubtful cases, to whom it is attributed. Yet the excellence of the print, and, in consequence, the reputation of the designer, rested with the engraver and printer. As pointed out above, much of Hiro- shige's later work suffered purely from this cause, while his reputation has been further endangered by the very numerous impressions of his prints in existence to-day, which were printed after his death, over which, therefore, he had no control, and in which the printing is careless, while of the colours the least said the better. In the writer's opinion, since these prints are (or should be) collected for their aesthetic charm, o o CO o THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS 8i the standard to be aimed at is one in which subject and artistic merit come first. The artist's signature is not by itself sufficient to satisfy the discriminating collector, whose chief desire is to possess beautiful examples of these prints. Beauty of drawing, harmony of colour-scheme, and all those qualities which appeal to his artistic sense should form the chief consideration. Besides landscape, Hiroshige produced some charming flower-and-bird (kwa-cho) studies, and also a series of fishes. The former are upright panels of various sizes ranging from 15 in. by 7 in. to a very narrow form, 3 in. wide, known as tanjaku, this bdng the name given to the narrow slips upon which poems were inscribed. The fish series, which is in two sets of ten prints each, are full-size oblong sheets. One set is signed with the artist's full name, Ichiryusai Hiroshige (publisher Ydjudo) and the other Hiroshige only. The collector should beware of late issues and reprints of this fish series (first editions of which are not common) which do not carry the publisher's seal, nor, sometimes, the artist's signature. Amongst Hiroshige's best work must be numbered 82 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS his various series of Hakkei or " Eight Views," which are : Omi Hakkei (" Eight Views of Omi," the province in which Lake Biwa is situated), generally known as the Eight Views of Lake Biwa ; rare. Yedo Kinko Hakkei (" Eight Views of the En- virons of Yedo") ; very rare and particularly fine. Kanazawa Hakkei ( " Eight Views of [the inlet of] Kanazav/a ") ; rare. The theme of all these eight views is the same throughout, and their origin is described in the chapter dealing with the subjects of illustration. Two other, also rare, series of his area set of ten views of Osaka, Naniwa Meisho, Naniwa being a poetic name for Osaka ; and another ten views of Kyoto, Kyoto Meisho. All the foregoing are oblong in shape. Many of Hiroshige's landscape series were repub- lished in a smaller form, half or quaYter-block, in panels of various sizes and as fan-mounts. Two large kakemono-ye, the " Monkey Bridge " and the " Snow Gorge of the Fuji River " are amongst Hiroshige's finest work, if not his chief master- pieces, and both are extremely rare, a copy of the former fetching £91 in the Happer sale. Three other masterpieces are three triptyches : a I 9. THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS 83 snow-scene on the Kiso mountains ; View of Kana- zawa in moonlight ; and the Awa no Naruto Rapids. Modern reproductions of all the foregoing are met with, sometimes so well produced as to be difficult of detection. Hiroshige's principal work in landscape is his "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" (c. 1830). a complete set of fifty-five views, with certain plates afterwards redrawn showing variations in outline and colour. Others, also, while they are found only in the one drawing or state, may vary in colour- scheme. In the same way Hokusai's " Views of Fuji " series is found in several different colour arrangements, probably due to the artist having left this point to his publisher to settle according to the fancy of his customers. The variation of design may have been due to a greater demand for certain views than for others, whereby the blocks became worn through much use, necessitating a new block cut from a fresh design, which gave the artist an opportunity of indulging his fancy. Such varia- tions are very interesting. It has also been suggested that these variations are due to the original blocks having been destroyed 84 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS by fire, as Yedo, in common with other cities and towns in Japan in those days, suffered much by this agency. " Station No. 6, Totsuka," is found in two different states. In this scene the variations are more pro- nounced than is usually the case. Thus, in the first issue, the tea-house is open and the man is dis- mounting from his horse ; in the later issue, the house is boarded up for the night, and the man is mounting. Other minor differences also appear. " Station lo, Odawara " (fording the Sakawa River), is found in four different versions, the number of figures on the near shore differing in three of them, while in the fourth the outUne of the hills is changed. In other plates the difference is sometimes con- fined to the omission of certain lettering, the design being otherwise the same, thus probably showing that only some of the characters became worn and were taken out. This is the case with the well-known Shono rain-scene. Station 46, in which the charac- ters on the umbrella disappear in the second issue, a change which is generally considered an improve- ment. This plate is here illustrated. THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS 85 The above remarks refer to the Tokaido set issued by the publisher Hoyeido. There is also a second set, issued about ten years later, by another pub- lisher, Marusei. The Hoyeido set is the better and more popular of the two, though the Marusei edition is rarer. It is in the former series that we find the masterpieces of the Tokaido views, viz., The Rain- storm at Shono (46) ; the Wind-storm at Yokkaichi (44) ; and Snow at Kameyawa (47), where coolies are climbing a steep hill through snowdrifts. The Marusei edition was issued in 1842 at the beginning of the so-called Prohibition period, when prints of actors and courtesans were forbidden by law, and consequently an increased demand for landscape designs arose, a demand Hiroshige was natiu-ally called upon to meet. This issue may be dis- tinguished from the Hoyeido series by having the title in a red frame or cartouch, while the figures introduced into the scene are smaller. Both these editions are full-size oblong prints. A rather smaller set, medium size, was issued by Yesaki ; a half-plate set by Tsuta-ya, and by Sanoki ; and a quarter-plate set by Arida-ya. None of these small sets, however, are at all common, and the writer 86 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS has seen no examples of the last-named series, but a set appeared at the Happer sale. Later in life Hiroshige issued another series of Tokaido views, full size, upright, in 1855, known as the upright Tokaido, to distinguish it from the fore- going series, and published by Tsuta-ya. Each print is dated Hare 7 (= 7th month, 1855) . Many prints in this series, however, are by Hiroshige H. {See Plate 5.) The Tokaido {i.e., Eastern Road) was the name given to the great highway along the eastern coast from Yedo to Kyoto, and had fifty-three relay sta- tions along'its route. The alternative road lay across the mountains and was known as the Kisokaido {i.e., mountain road), and had sixty-nine stations. In the series of Kisokaido views (oblong), Hiroshige had the collaboration of Yeisen, who produced twenty-three out of the complete set of seventy plates. The best view in this series is generally con- sidered Nagakubo Station by Hiroshige, which is found in two different states ; but taken as a whole this set is in no way the equal of the Tokaido series pubhshed by Hoyeido. Under the title Toto or Yedo Meisho (Yedo THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS 87 Views), he issued in various years a large number of series with different publishers. In addition to the foregoing is the following series : Honcho Meisho (Views of the Main Islands), oblong, of which fourteen are known ; very rare. Yedo Komyo Kaiseki Tsukushi (" Famous Tea- Houses of Yedo"), oblong, of which twenty -nine prints are known ; rare. Nihon Minato Tsukushi (" Famous Harbours of Japan "), oblong, a series of ten views ; rare. Meisho Yedo Hyakkei (" Hundred Views of Yedo"), full-size, upright, variously dated between the years 1856 and 1858 — a series of 118 prints which vary very much in quality, only about a third of the total number being worthy of the description of masterpieces. Some of them are so inferior that they must be attributed to Hiroshige II. It is of this series, almost more than any other, that so many late impressions are met with which are prac- tically valueless, and only early first edition copies should be collected. Late impressions are readily recognised by their inferior printing and terribly crude colours ; also the colour-scheme may be entirely altered. 88 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS Rokoju yo shu Meisho zu ye (" Views of the Sixty- odd Provinces ") (literally the more than sixty) ; a series of 69 full-size upright prints, variously dated between the years 1853 and 1856. First edition copies may be identified by bear- ing the following seals on them : i., the engraver (Take) alongside Hiroshige's signature (but not on all the prints of the series) ; ii., the date-seal ; iii., the pubUsher (Heisukfe) ; iv., two small circular inspector's (or censor's) seals, Watanabfe and Yone- hara, which also occur on a Yedo Meisho series known as the Yamadaya set (from the name of the publisher) issued during the years 1853 to 1858. The view here reproduced, iake Biwa, shows all these five seals, and is dated Ox 10 (= loth month of the year Ox, Kayei period, i.e., 1853). The cloud across the face of the moon only appears in first edition copies. Fuji San ju Rok'kei (" Thirty-six Views of Fuji ") full size, upright, each print dated Horse 4 (= 4th month, 1858), but issued in the sixth month, 1859, the year after Hiroshige's death. This series was his last work, but he did not live to complete it, some of the plates being designed by Hiroshige II. • TchiryusM Hiroshige (1796-1858). Ishiyama Temple by the shore of Lake Biwa ; from the ' ' Sixty-odd Provinces " series (first edihon). Key : I 2 3 Roku (G) ju (10) 3'o 4 shu 5 mei 6 sho 8 ye 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 Hiro shig6 gwa Engraver: Inspectors' Date seal: Publisher: (drew) Take seals 0x10=1853 Heisukel Face p. SS.I IPlateNo 27. THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS 89 publisher Tsuta-ya. Good copies oi this series are amongst the best of the various upright series designed by Hiroshige, but such are comparatively rare, whereas poor impressions with crude colours are fairly numerous. (See Plate 6.) Hiroshige illustrated the drama " Chushingura " (Loyal League) in various series comprising sixteen, twelve, or eleven scenes. By far the best detailed information of the num- erous series designed by Hiroshige is contained in the catalogue of the Happer collection sold at Sotheby's in June, 1909. No such collection of examples of Hiroshige's work has ever before appeared in the auction-room, and collectors are much indebted to Mr. Happer for the additional facts regarding Hiroshige which he has been instrumental in bring- ing to our knowledge, particularly in his clearing up the doubt which previously existed between Hiro- shige I. and Hiroshige U. V Of Hiroshige's pupil, Utagawa (or Ichiyusai) Shigenobu (w. 1840-1868), afterwards Hiroshige II., little need be said. As a rule his work, which closely follows that of his master, is very inferior. 90 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS though at times it was of sufficient merit to favour- ably compare with it. Thanks to Mr. Happer's investigations in respect of the date-seals found on Hiroshige's prints after 1840, much confusion for- merly existing between the two Hiroshiges has now been definitely cleared up, and prints formerly attri- buted to the pupil are now properly accorded to Hiroshige himself, though it is known he sometimes called in his pupil to assist him in completing some of his numerous series. Owing to the difference in the signature, Hiroshige, appearing on the early oblong views {e.g., Tokaido series) as compared with that on the later vertical series {e.g., Hundred Yedo Views), it was at one time thought that the signature on the latter was the form in which the pupil wrote it, and consequently all vertical prints signed Hiroshige were attributed to Hiroshige II. Von Seidlitz, however, points out that this difference in form of signature is due to the change in the method of writing it, that is from the Japanese cursive to the Chinese square style, quite apart from the change naturally induced by in- creasing age. If the collector has an opportunity of studying a number of Hiroshige's prints covering his HiROSHIGE II (W, 1X40-1868.) s a Morning Mist at Zojoji Temple : Lady Pilgrims attracted by a pass- ing fish-vendor ; one of a series ' ' Thirty-six Views of Toto ' ' (Yedo.) [Key: 12345 6 7 8 g 10 11 To to San-ju-Roku kei Hiro shigfe f^wa l>;ite seal : cock Publisher : (3) (10) (6) (view) (drew) year=i86i A-eto of Yedo" pro. Rok'kei Face /). 90.'] \ Plate \o. 2S. THE LANDSCAPE ARTISTS 91 whole career, he will notice that the change is not abrupt, as anyone comparing only early and late work, without any intermediate examples, might think, but is progressive. A good series by Hiroshige II. (c. i860) is his Toto San-ju Rok'kei ("Thirty-six Views of Toto"), Toto being a poetic name for Yedo. One print at least in this series, " Morning Mist at Zojoji Temple," here illustrated, proves that, given good colouring and careful printing, he could turn out prints equal to his master's. Another good series by him is an oblong Toto Meisho set, printed in blue with occasional red and purple introduced, issued by Sen-ichi, and dated Dog 3 = 1862. Published at a time when the use of more than three colours was forbidden on the ground of economy, it is remarkable for the purity and effectiveness of the blue, which atones for the some- what crude drawing. He also designed a series of a " Hundred Views of Various Provinces " after the style of his master's " Sixty-odd Provinces," but it is a very inferior production, both in design and colouring. CHAPTER VII SUBJECTS PORTRAYED BY THE UKIYOYE ARTISTS Generally speaking, the subjects portrayed can be divided into the following classes : (i.) Portraits of actors and theatrical scenes ; (ii.) Portraits of courte- sans and geishas ; (iii.) Landscape ; and (iv.) Illustra- tions of historical and legendary stories, mythical heroes, and the like. Prints combining both land- scape views and portraits of courtesans or geishas are also found, though the connection between the land- scape and portrait is often too slight or too subtle for the European to detect. In the portraits of actors and women, and in fact in all figure and head studies, and sometimes even in small figures introduced into a landscape, it will be noticed that a fixed convention is adopted in drawing the face, which is invariably half-way between full-face and profile — a convention admir- ably adapted to portray all the features. 92 UKIYOYE ARTISTS' SUBJECTS 93 Another convention was that used to convey the sense of darkness at night time by means of a black or grey sky, by introducing a moon or lanterns into the picture ; while the picture itself is as clear as a scene in broad daylight, yet there is no incongruity about it, as might be expected. The Japanese artist fully realised the limitations of the process of producing colour-prints ; to have attempted to secure realistic effects would have sacri- ficed the charming results of which the process was capable in a hopeless effort to attain others beyond it. It will also be noticed that, with the exception of certain artists, such as Hiroshige, who evidently studied our laws of perspective and applied them to a limited extent, our method of rendering perspective is exactly reversed, thus following the Chinese canon of drawing. That is to say, parallel Unes converge as they approach the spectator, and often no attempt is made to diminish the size of figures more remote. In short, while European pictures attempt to compete with the reality and exactness to nature of a photograph, Japanese art, in common with all Oriental art, where it has kept itself free of foreign 94 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS nfluence, has never professed to do so, but is full of convention and symbolism. The Japanese colour- print must be approached from an entirely different point of view to that adopted when criticising Western art. We portray in our pictures, the Japanese suggest ; and to the work of the artist the observer must bring his own share of mind and thought if he would see clearly the artist's meaning. While we leave little or nothing to the imagination, a function allowed only to poetry, the Oriental artist appeals as much to this faculty as to the sense of beauty, so that his picture is more or less pure symbolism. It is this quality which contributes so largely to the charm of Japanese colour-prints, and affords relief to the somewhat dull and stereotyped methods of Western pictorial art. Actors are generally represented singly or in pairs, as they appeared in some favourite part on the stage j sometimes the portrait is of the head only. The name of the actor is nearly always given on the print, and generally also the character he represents and the name of the play. Sometimes the name of the actor, when not otherwise given, can be identified by a crest (mon) on his costume. (See Plate 29.) Kitagawa Utamaro (175471806). Act 8 from the "Chusingura": The Bridal Journey of Konami and her mother, Tonase, represented by two actors in private life, To-jaku (stage name Hanshiro), and Ro-ko. IKey: 123 4 567 Uta maro luae Publisher: Ro-ko To jakul , ' (with brush) Omi-ya of Ycdo middle period Face f. VI:] [Plate iYo. JS. UKIYOYE ARTISTS' SUBJECTS 95 Reference has been made to the grotesque atti- tudes and, to us, distorted features in which we find actors represented on prints. This is because the interpretation of a play in Japan depends to a much greater extent than with us upon attitudes and move- ments, whereas elocution plays a very secondary part. The various shades of passion and sentiment are expressed by the features and movements of the body rather than by the tongue. It is clear, therefore, that an artist, if so minded, could easily exaggerate the posings and facial expressions of an actor whom he was portraying, so that they seem to us little more than caricatures. It is obvious, too, that such acting must have been very tiring to the performers, particularly when we remember that a play in Japan was not an affair of a couple of hours or so, as with us, but occupied a whole day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. This fact may have been a reason why women did not act on the stage in Japan, though by an edict issued in the middle of the seventeenth century they were forbidden to take part in theatrical performances. Of the numerous plays of Old Japan, by far the most popular — ^at least as a subject for illustration — 96 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS was the " Chushingura," or " Loyal League of Forty- seven Ronin." This play, which at the present time still holds a foremost place in Japan, is founded on an historical event which took place in the opening years of the eighteenth century, and describes how a certain daimyo, Yenya, was so persistently insulted by another daimyo (Moronao), his instructor in court etiquette, that he was compelled to draw his sword in the latter's palace, and attack him, though he only managed to inflict a sUght wound. Such an offence was punishable by death, and Yenya was condemned to commit seppuku or self-immolation, even though he had acted under intense provocation. By this act his retainers {samurai) were reduced to the status of ronin, or leaderless (literally " float- ing ") men. Forty-six of these banded together under the leadership of Yenya's chief counciDor, Yuranosuk^, to avenge their lord by the death of the offending Moronao. After many hardships and wanderings, as they had to keep the greatest secrecy over their movements in order to throw Moronao off his guard, they eventually, on a winter's night when the country was wrapped in deep snow, broke into his castle, surprised the guard, and killed UKIYOYE ARTISTS' SUBJECTS 97 Moronao. Finally they put an end to their own lives with all due formality, after leaving a record of the event. To this day the tombs of the forty-seven ronin at Sengakuji Temple, in Yedo, are held in the greatest veneration. In the same graveyard, under a more imposing tomb, he the remains of their lord whose death they so dutifully avenged. In order that no offence may be given to any living descendant of the two daimyos in the play of the Chushingura, the names are changed, and Yenya represents the daimyo Asano Takuni-no-kami, and Kira Kotsuke-no-suk6 becomes Moronao. Also, as is often done when dramatising history, details are altered and more characters are introduced. Thus, for example, in a set of Chushingura prints by Hiroshige in the writer's possession, in the first scene the fatal quarrel is caused by Moronao forcing his unreciprocated attentions upon Yenya 's wife, the lady Kowoyo, and Wakasa is depicted defending her. Again, in the actual story, Yuranosuke, the leader, divorces his wife in order to be more certain that his plans for vengeance may not miscarry ; in the play it is another of the ronin, Gihei, who divorces his wife to prevent secrets leaking out. A 98 JAPANESE COLOUR-PRINTS full account of the story of the " Forty-seven Renin " will be found in the late Lord Redesdale's " Tales of Old Japan." Most, if not all, of the chief artists of Ukiyoye have depicted the scenes of the Chushingura in one form or another. It occurs sometimes in twelve, and sometimes in sixteen scenes. Kuniyoshi has left a series of forty-seven scenes, corresponding to the number of the ronin, while Kunisada has designed a series of eleven triptyches. A complete set of scenes is also found as a large single sheet {e.g. a triptych). The characters in the play are sometimes represented on prints by women, though actually women did not appear on the stage in Japan ; and the various scenes are travestied by scenes in every- day life, or are parodied by children and Yoshiwara beauties. Thus, in a set by Utamaro, the attack on Moronao in Act XI. is parodied by two men fighting in the kitchen of a house, one armed with a mop, and the other with a broom. In another set, also by Utamaro, the various scenes are compared with the amusements of children. Scene vi. from this set is here illustrated at Plate 30, in which a mother is fastening on her daughter's obi for the birthday Kitagawa Utamaro (1754- 1806. Act 6 from the " Cliushingura " compared with Children's Amusements. Fact p. !IX. Key : I 2 3 4 Uta maro /