- Museum number
- 1979,0305,0.73.1
- Title
- Object: Ehon tokiwa gusa 絵本常盤草 (Picture-book of Evergreens)
- Description
-
Illustrated book. Vol. 1 of three volumes. Woodblock-printed.
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 1] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 2] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 3] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 4] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 5] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 6] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 7] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 8] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 9] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 10] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 11] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 12] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 13] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 14] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 15] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 16] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 17] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 18] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 19] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 20] -
[JH.73, vol. 1, image 21] -
- Production date
- 1731
- Dimensions
-
Height: 27 centimetres
-
Width: 18 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Tokiwa-gusa of the title is a poetic phrase meaing 'pine'. After famous beauties from Japanese history (Ono no Komachi, right), there follow townswomen and courtesans shown at work, pleasure and leisure and a few pages of written guidances on how to paint. (Label copy, TTC, 1998)
'Picture Book of the Pine' ('Ehon tokiwa-gusa')
A regular source of the motifs used by Harunobu in his colour prints were the earlier black and white book illustrations of the Kyoto artist Nishikawa Sukenobu. In the print above, Harunobu has borrowed the figure of Ono no Komachi.
Volume One (Spring): The courtesans Ureshino (right), and Maki-no-o of the O-Kazusaya House (left).
Ureshino holds a 'shamisen', a three-stringed banjo-like instrument particularly associated with the pleasure quarters. Maki-no-o reads an announcement of a recital to be given at the Ogiya House on the 12th day of the 9th month by the singer Edo Handayu.
Volume Two (Summer): Futamura (right) and Meizan (left).
Futamura samples incense from a small burner in practice for the incense-guessing game (ko-awase). Meizan holds a colour print of her sister courtesan Chozan, and the printed wrapper reads 'Edo brocade print by Suzuki Harunobu' ('Suzuki Harunobu hitsu azuma nishiki-e'). The small paper butterfly may refer to Chozan's name, 'Butterfly Mountain'.
Volume Three (Summer): Tokonatsu of the Hishiya House (right) and Tamade (left).
Tokonatsu and Tamade are playing the shell-matching game. Scenes from the first and second parts of classical poems are painted inside the paired halves of clam shells and the contestants compete to grab the pairs of shells and quote the poems. Lacquered boxes for the shells are placed to one side.
Volume Four (Autumn): Kureha (right) and Hananoi of the Kashiwaya House (left).
Both courtesans stand reading love-letters, wearing heavy outer-kimono ('uchikake') draped around their shoulders against cold weather.
Volume Five (Winter): Nishikigi of the Okanaya House (right) and Fujinoto (left).
The pair are tucked into a cozy quilt-covered brazier ('kotatsu'). Nishikigi reads volumes from an edition of the 'Fuga waka shu', an Imperial poetry anthology completed in 1349, while Fujinoto lights her pipe from a portable smoking set.
(Label copy, TTC 1997)
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1979
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1979,0305,0.73.1
- Additional IDs
-
Previous owner/ex-collection number: JH.73 (Hillier no.)
