Description
«I regret that / after many years / I have not yet chosen / who to have by my side / and yet I look forward to spring» (ひと方に / さためかねけり / 行年を / おしむかたへに / はるもまたれて). The verses of Kai Ichikawa Eiken (甲斐市川英賢), visible in the upper inset, introduce this refined woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) dedicated to the chapter “The Jewelled Chaplet” (玉鬘) of “The Tale of Genji” (源氏物語). At the end of the year, the distribution of fabrics for spring dresses takes place and the “Shining Prince” takes care to give each lady a gift appropriate to her personality.
The work, of vertical chuban (中判) format, was printed in May 1852 by the publisher Sanoya Kihei (佐野屋喜兵衛), owner of Kikakudo (喜鶴堂), and it is taken from the series “The Color Print Contest of a Modern Genji” (今源氏錦絵合).
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, is in very good general condition.
