Egenolf Gallery Japanese Art

Title: Fireworks 花火 Series: The Second Collection of Modern Beauties (Gendai bijin shū dai nishū 現代美人集第二輯) Date: 1932 A young woman is shown enjoying the summer fireworks, her face shown in profile as she looks towards the display. She holds a summer fan on her lap, and her kimono features large blue stripes and is tied with a colorful obi that features a morning glory pattern. The summer evening sky is a soft grey rather than a deep black, perhaps reflecting the brightness of the fireworks. Numbered verso, from a limited edition of 250 prints. Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô Literature: See “All the Woodblock Prints of Shinsui Ito...

Barley, broad beans and a lark (Omugi, soramame, hibari). Original preparatory watercolor next to the finished original Japanese woodblock print. This is a highly finished preparator...

Orchid and small swallows (Hokuri, kotsubame). Original preparatory watercolor next to the finished original Japanese woodblock print. This is a highly finished preparatory watercolo...

A beauty turns to admire the Kirifuri Waterfall in Nikko Province. She holds the handle of an umbrella and wears fashionable clothing that is beautifully printed. This series pairs f...

A courtesan in Heian period style looks over the prow of her watercraft, looking ahead through the famous torii of Miyajima (Itsukushima) Shrine. She will be dancing in the ceremonies of the annual festival held in Itsukushima in the sixth month of the lunar calendar. Note the ukiyoe style of the beauty and the water, and the Shijo style of the rendering of the torii and the shore. Her enormous traveling hat and veil are placed beside her. From the series "One Hundred Famous Views of the Moon...

Umewaka Shrine, from an untitled series of prints depicting Tokyo. A woman braces her umbrella against the rain and a man waits out the storm next to his jinriksha in this view of th...

A cascading waterfall fills Chiyo’s Pond, named after an ancient samurai’s wife. Cherry trees in full bloom line the banks of the pond. The reflections of the trees in the pond are a notable feature, as Hiroshige did not use reflections in very many of his prints, as it was something of an exotic import. From the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo...

"Sun, Moon and Stars". Three beauties enjoy a full moon on the veranda of a teahouse or restuarant. The woman on the left kneels and adjusts her lavishly printed kimono. The beauty in the center has her hair down, and behind her is a screen against which shadows are beautifully silhouetted, which adds an air of mystery. The seated woman on the right is perhaps a geisha, as we see a shamisen lying next to her. Before her is a tray with an assortment of foods. One may surmise that the beauties are being compared to the sun, the moon, and the stars. On the left we glimpse a full moon shining over the peaceful bay, and boats at harbor. Original first edition Japanese color woodblock print triptych...

“War Chronicles of Osaka” (Osaka gunki no uchi). Okubo Hikozaemon, raising his sword, protects the hidden Tokugawa shogun from the spear of Gorô Matabei Mototsugu in a moonlit fores...

A young apprentice geisha from Kyoto poses before a gold leaf screen. She is both alluring and slightly distant at the same time, not an easy balance for an artist to convey. This p...

A beautiful Japanese geisha dressed in a traditional robe shyly claps her hands together. She stands in front of a backdrop of a bamboo screen. This print...

Shichirigahama, Sagami Province. A beauty in the foreground waves to her young companions, who run towards her on the beach. The beauty at left wears a western-style golden ring. We ...