- Museum number
- 1906,1220,0.354
- Description
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Colour woodblock-printed diptych. Six celebrated beauties of day likened posed as the Six Immortal Poets of the Heian period; each with poem. Nishiki-e on paper, with white mica. Inscribed and signed.
- Production date
- 1792-1793 (ca.)
- Dimensions
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Height: 36.70 centimetres (left)
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Height: 36.70 centimetres (right)
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Width: 23.80 centimetres (left)
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Width: 24.10 centimetres (right)
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- Curator's comments
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Asano and Clark 1995
The diptych contains portraits of six celebrated beauties of the day likened to the Six Immortal Poets of the Heian period, each with a ‘kyoka’ poem inscribed above. The top of each print, inside the cloud-shaped border, is printed with white mica. The women depicted and the poets they parody are, from right to left: Takashima Ohisa as Otomo no Kuronushi, Yaba Omiya as Ariwara no Narihira, Hanaogi of the Ogiya as Ono no Komachi, Tomimoto Toyohina as Henjo Sojo, Hiranoya Oseyo as Fun'ya no Yasuhide and Naniwaya Okita as Kisen Hoshi. For more concerning each of these women, see the commentaries to the following [Asano and Clark] catalogue entries: Takashima Ohisa (cat. no. 106), Naniwaya Okita (cat. no. 107), Tomimoto Toyohina (cat. no. 108), Ogiya Hanaogi (cat. no. 148), Hiranoya Oseyo (cat. no. 66). Nothing is known about Yaba Omiya, except that ‘yaba’ means an archery hall and it can be surmised that Omiya was a woman who worked in such an establishment.
This diptych has a very similar composition to a cheap printed broadsheet "One Hundred Smiles of One Hundred Tea-house Women (Mizu-jaya musume hyakunin issho), thought to have been published in 1793. Either Utamaro did the preparatory drawings for both designs, or else the broadsheet copied the colour print.
The censorship seals, publisher's marks and part of one of the signatures have been cut out of the far right and far left edges of the British Museum impressions.
Literature:
Shibui, Kiyoshi 渋井清, 'Ukiyo-e zuten, vol. 13: Utamaro' 「ウキヨエ図典13 歌麿」, Kazama Shobo, Tokyo, 1964, pls. 8-1-3, 8-1-4.
"Kitagawa Utamaro sakuhin mokuroku" 「喜多川歌麿作品目録」, 'Ukiyo-e shuka', 「浮世絵聚花」, vol. 3 (Bosuton Bijutsukan III ボストン美術館3), Shogakkan, Tokyo, 1978, pp. 235-254, pl.17.
'Ukiyo-e shuka' 「浮世絵聚花」, vol. 3, Shogakkan, Tokyo, 1978-85, pls. 108-109.
Smith, Lawrence, ed., ‘Ukiyoe: Images of Unknown Japan’, BMP, London, 1988, no. 85.
Other impressions:
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The Portland Art Museum.
Ota Memorial Museum of Art 太田記念美術館, Tokyo.
Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Bruxelles (right sheet only).
[Main text translated in Japanese below / 以下上記本文日本語訳]
浅野/クラーク、1995
当時名高い6人の美女を六歌仙に見立て、狂歌を配した作品。上部の雲形内は白雲母摺としている。右から順に、大伴黒主に見立てられた高島おひさ、在原業平に見立てられた矢場おみや、小野小町に見立てられた扇屋花扇、僧正遍照に見立てられた富本豊雛、文屋康秀に見立てられた平野屋おせよ、喜撰法師に見立てられた難波屋おきたである。高島おひさについては浅野/クラーク、1995、第106図解説、難波屋おきたについては第107図解説、富本豊雛については第108図解説、扇屋花扇については第148図解説、平野屋おせよについては第66図解説参照。矢場おみやについては未詳。矢場とは楊弓場のことで、おみやはそこで働く女性の一人と推測される。
この二枚続は、寛政5年の版行と思われる読売「水茶屋娘百人一笑」に載る図と非常によく似ており、どちらも歌麿の下絵になるものか、読売で錦絵を真似たかのどちらかであろう。
大英博物館蔵品は、右図の右辺と左図の左辺にある、極印•版元印•署名の全部又は一部がカットされている。
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Smith 1988
The six most famous Japanese poets (all of the ninth century) are shown with their traditional attributes but in the form of six beautiful women of the day. The women are identified above with the appropriate poems. On the right is Ohisa, one of Utamaro's favourite subjects. The print is signed 'Painted by Utamaro'.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1906
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1906,1220,0.354