Description
Rare triptych of woodblock prints made in 1877 by the artist Utagawa Kunitoshi (歌川国利) to celebrate the birth of Prince Takenomiya Yukihito (建宮敬仁親王), depicted here while receiving his full uniform as a gift. On the right of the work, behind a curtain, the mother Yanagihara Naruko (柳原愛子), court lady, concubine of Emperor Meiji (明治天皇) and mother of the future Emperor Taisho (大正天皇), a circumstance the latter that makes her the last concubine in the history of Japan that gave birth to a reigning emperor.
The work is entitled “Long Long Life of Glory” (萬々歳榮の壽) but, despite the high-sounding wish, the little Prince Take, born on 23 September 1877, died on 26 July of the following year due to a meningitis.
The print, published by Shimizu Kahei (清水嘉兵衛), despite the evident signs of aging of the paper, is in good general condition.
