Description
Though the arrival of autumn / is not yet visible / anywhere / I suddenly noticed it / by the sound of the fluttering breeze (秋来ぬと 目にはさやかに 見えねども 風の音にぞ おどろかれぬる). The verses of the nobleman and poet Fujiwara no Toshiyuki (藤原敏行), shown in the central box of the upper part of this woodblock print, accompany the depiction of the famous courtesan Komurasaki (小紫), of the Kadoebiro (角海老楼) pleasure house, and Osono (おその) who, behind her, protects with a fan the fire of a candle from the wind that in the background shakes the sudare (簾) blinds of the Matsuya (松屋) restaurant in Saruwakacho (猿若町).
The work is taken from the series “Embellishments for a Set of Thirty-six Immortal Flowers” (潤色三十六花撰), made in 1881 by the artist Toyohara Kunichika (豊原国周) and printed by the publisher Takegawa Seikichi (武川清吉).
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, is in good general condition, thanks also to a relining carried out on the back.
