Description
Humorous woodblock printed illustration made by the artist Shibata Zeshin (柴田是真) and entitled “Caricature of Two Gods of Good Fortune” (二福神戯画). On the left, the god Daikokuten (大黒天), with a mouse on his shoulder, is loading the rice bales and the sack with which he is always portrayed onto a donkey. On the right, a smiling god Ebisu (恵比寿) leads a second donkey carrying his fishing rod and sea breams.
The work, printed in December 1891, is taken from issue 15 (巻十五) of Bijutsu Sekai (美術世界), that is “The World of Art”, the famous magazine edited by the nihonga (日本画) painter Watanabe Seitei (渡辺省亭) and produced by the publisher Wada Tokutaro (和田篤太郎) of Shunyodo (春陽堂).
The print, made in collaboration with the carver Goto Tokujiro (五島徳次郎) and the printer Komatsu Kakutaro (小松角太郎), despite the right signs of aging, is in good general condition.
