DISTANT VIEW OF SUMIDA RIVER (Utagawa Yoshitora)

N.1 triptych of ukiyo-e woodblock prints
Year: 1872
Condition: good
Size: 74 x 37 cm

SOLD

Description

Rare triptych of polychrome woodblock prints commissioned in 1872 to the artist Utagawa Yoshitora (歌川芳虎) to celebrate the magnificent view of the Sumida River (隅田川) that could be enjoyed from the tower of the imposing building built on the occasion of the merger of the two pleasure houses Goseiro (五勢楼) and Hozuchiro (宝槌楼).

The work, produced by the publisher Masadaya Heikichi (政田屋平吉), is entitled “On the Fifth Floor of the Goseiro Hozuchiro Building in the First Block of Edo-machi in the Shin Yoshiwara Pleasure District” (新吉原 江戸町壱丁目 五勢楼 宝槌楼 五階上之図).

The prints on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite some signs of aging including small paper thinnings in the right panel, are in overall good condition.