Description
Precious fragment of a pentaptych of woodblock prints entitled “Visiting Horinouchi Myohoji Temple on New Year’s Day” (堀之内妙法寺恵方参之図) and depicting in the foreground a group of women during the ehomairi (恵方参り), that is the traditional visit to a temple, or shrine, which was done from a particular direction considered lucky for each specific year.
The work is signed “Toyohiro ga” (豊廣画), that is by Utagawa Toyohiro (歌川豊広), pupil of Toyoharu (豊春), founder of the Utagawa school (歌川派), one of the most important schools of the ukiyo-e (浮世絵) genre, and in turn teacher of the famous artist Hiroshige (広重).
The rare print was produced around 1804 by the publisher Matsuyasu (松安) and has very evident signs of aging and, in particular, lacerations and worm holes restored with a relining carried out on the back with another sheet of Japanese washi paper (和紙).
