HIT PLAYS AT THE THREE THEATERS (Keisai Eisen)

$750.00

N.1 ukiyo-e woodblock print
Year: 1830 ca.
Condition: signs of aging
Size: 26 x 38 cm

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Description

Important original woodblock print of vertical large oban (大判) format, made around 1830 by the famous artist Keisai Eisen (渓斎英泉), taken from the series “Modern Specialties and Dyed Fabrics” (当世名物かのこ) and entitled “Hit Plays at the Three Theaters” (三芝居の当り狂言).

The work portrays a bijin (美人) beauty, leaning against the railing of a balcony illuminated by an andon (行灯) lamp, who is waving her hand to, as we can guess from the title, one of the passers-by who crowded the streets around the three main kabuki theaters of Edo (江戸): the Nakamura (中村座), the Ichimura (市村座) and the Morita (守田座).

The rare print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), produced by the publisher Omiya Heihachi (近江屋平八), despite the obvious signs of aging, including wormholes, restorations and slight wrinkles, is in fair condition.