EVENING BELL AT EKOIN TEMPLE (Utagawa Yoshiiku)

N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print
Year: 1869
Condition: good
Size: 24 x 36,5 cm

SOLD

Description

Polychrome vertical large oban (大判) format woodblock print made by the artist Utagawa Yoshiiku (歌川芳幾) and depicting the geisha Kofuji (小ふぢ) of the Yanagibashi (柳ばし) district and her young assistant Taki (たき). The work is titled “Evening Bell at Ekoin Temple” (回向院の晩鐘) and is taken from the series “Eight Views of Ryougoku” (両国八景之内).

The print was produced in May 1869 by the publisher Kagaya Kichibei (加賀屋吉兵衛). At the bottom left, a sign of the organization of wrestlers and referees Sumo Kaisho (相撲会所); in the top inset, a comment signed Kanagaki Robun (仮名垣魯文), pen name of the author and journalist Nozaki Bunzo (野崎 文蔵).

The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite some signs of aging including slight wrinkles and an equally slight vertical fold mark, as well as small imperfections and a restoration on the margins, is in overall good condition.