Posts by Richard Kruml:
Yashima GAKUTEI (1786-1868)
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An original painting, sumi and light blue on silk, 13 x 22 in; 33 x 55.9 cms. Shows a carp swimming amongst weeds. Gakutei is best known for his fine surimono (and in fact designed a surimono of this subject). Painted in Bunsei era (1818-1830). In fine condition apart from a minimal crease. Recently remounted.
Signed Gogaku with seals Yashima and Sadaoka. A beautiful painting.
Status: Sold
Uegaki HORYU (Fl. c 1716-1736)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting, full colour on paper, 36.5 x 15.5 in; 92.75 x 39.4 cms. Shows a full-length courtesan. It appears there are at least four other Horyu paintings known: Two in the Tokyo National Museum: C0041812 and C0041813; one in the Cleveland Museum of Art; and another […]
Watanabe SEITEI (1852-1918)
Click here to view image full size. Seitei ( Shotei ) specialised in kachoga; was famous in this area, and regarded as the leading exponent. Technically brilliant. A complete set of three paintings showing, right, Hana shobu, “ Iris Flower; centre, Matsu ni koi, “Pine Tree and Carp”; and left, Shobu, “Iris.” Each painting in […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An original fan painting mounted as a scroll. Shows a gorge with the fast flowing Nagatoro River in Musashi Province. (An area in western Saitama Prefecture northwest of Tokyo.) Sumi and light blue on paper, 7 x 20.5 in; 17.75 x 52 cms. Comes with a certificate from […]
Kikukawa EIZAN (1787-1867)
Click here to view image full size. An original painting by Eizan who was the leading exponent of bijinga in the early 1800s producing many fine oban, triptych and shunga designs. He founded the Kikukawa School. Surprisingly, given his output of prints, his paintings are rare. This beautiful example, full colour on silk, 35 x […]
Teisai HOKUBA (1771-1844)
Click here to view image full size. One of the outstanding pupils of Hokusai, his paintings rated next below the master’s, and also one of the earliest, together with Hokkei and Shinsai. Designed some fine surimono, also kyoka books. But best known for his highly accomplished kakemono of bijin, often set against well known places […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. An extremely rare aiban print showing a shimadai, grouper, (probably Chilodactylus zonatus) and an aji, horse-mackerel, (Caranx trachurus). From a set of eight prints of various fish published c. late 1830s. Fine impression and colour. Slight soil, otherwise very good condition. Signed Hiroshige ga. Status: Sold […]
Kitao MASAYOSHI (1764-1824)
Click here to view image full size. A falcon and camellia. One design from the album: Kaihaku raikin zui, A Compendium of Pictures of Birds Imported from Overseas. The first edition published by Gungyokudo Matsumoto Zembei, 2/1789. Copies of the first two editions are excessively rare and it was then reissued with the plates signed […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Koi, carp (Cyprinus carpio) from the second series of ten fish prints published by Yamasho, c 1840-42. The first series was issued privately for a poetry group ( probably the Shingyoku Circle ) with judges’ names and extra poems. Poem above by Makuzu. These prints are of the […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. Cuckoo and azaleas from the so-called Small Flower series of ten chuban prints published c 1832. Amongst the most sought after of Hokusai’s prints. The first edition was published by and has the seal Eijudo. A later edition (as here) has combined manji and kiwame seal ( and […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Mii no bansho, “Evening Bell at Miidera Temple” from a set Omi hakkei no uchi, “Eight Views in Omi [Province].” Shows the temple hidden amongst hills on the southern side of Lake Biwa. Miidera is the common name for the Onjoji, a temple of the Tendai sect founded […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych Akazawa-yama o-sumo showing the most famous sumo match in Japanese history between Kawazu Saburo Sukeyasu and Matano Goro Kagehisa at Akazawa mountain. Also famous as Kawazu used a new sumo hold wrapping a foot around his opponent’s leg and encircling the neck with one arm, a […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. An extremely rare diptych, Shoki-san jaki ni sokko, “Shoki-San, Quick-Acting Medicine to Remove Evil Spirits.” Images of Shoki were used to ward off evil spirits and illness, especially during the Boys’ Festival. Published 1858 by Enshuya Hikobei. Provenance: Purchased from me in 1994. Extremely fine impression. Fine colour […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Kwaido Maru (Kintoki) seizes Raijin, the Thunder God, with one hand while holding his thunder drums with the other. A thunderbolt falls to earth causing flashes of lightning. A fine and rare set: Honcho musha kagami, “Mirror of Warriors of our Country.” The set published by Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke, […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. A triptych showing the famous archer Minamoto no Yorimasa preparing to shoot the monster Nue on the roof of the Shishinden Palace. The story relates how in 1153 the sixteen year old Emperor Konoe was having difficulty sleeping due to the shrieks and scratchings emanating from the palace […]
Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797-1861)
Click here to view image full size. Hironao no Hayata (Tadazumi no Hayata), Yorimasa’s retainer (see the triptych by Kuniyoshi of the same subject on this update), grappling with the composite beast Nue on the roof of the Shishinden Palace. Forked lightning bounces around him. One of the best designs from Honcho Suikoden goyu happyaku-nin […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A newly discovered painting of a three-clawed Kano-style dragon amongst clouds. Although a subject popular with Japanese artists (and especially Chinese artists where the subject derives from), this appears to be the only such painting by Hiroshige extant. He did, however, produce two prints of the subject – […]
Washi – Handmade paper
One of the pleasures of dealing in ukiyo-e is to handle hosho on a daily basis and it is a fact that paper making was already established and used for every imaginable purpose in China and Japan well before Guttenberg was printing the Bible on some of the first western handmade paper. Hosho, used […]
Toyokuni – painted while drunk
In the current update is a painting signed “Toyokuni painted while being drunk.” This is not an isolated example: Certain artists – such as Kyosai – often signed works in this way and indeed may have benefited from a degree of inebriation to prompt inspiration. Artists often collaborated on works, especially of the Shijo school, […]
Isoda KORYUSAI (FL c 1764-1788)
Click here to view image full size. A superb original painting, full colour on silk, showing a beauty running in a late snowfall. Cherry blossom above. A leading artist of his time who produced some of the best bijin and kacho prints of the 1770s before concentrating on painting. Image size 40.25 x 14.25 in; […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Nihonbashi no hakuu, “Light Rain on Nihon Bridge.” From a Toto meisho set of 21 designs published between c. 1832 and 1839 by Kikakudo. The set was subsequently enlarged. Shows figures crossing Nihonbashi in rain, one figure carries an umbrella with the publisher’s name. Warehouses in the background […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A procession at the Shiba Shinmei keidai, “Precincts [of the] Shiba Shinmei [Shrine].” The shrine with the distinctive chigi protruding roof beams can be seen on the right. A popular area with the Zozoji Temple, tea stalls and where the Shoga Matsuri Festival was held. From a set […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Nihonbashi no hakuu, “Light Rain on Nihon Bridge.” From a set of twenty-one prints Toto meisho, “Famous Views in the Eastern Capital” published by Sanoya Kihei, c 1834-5. The series was extended to fifty-five in c 1839-42. Shows figures crossing Nihonbashi in rain, one figure carries an umbrella […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Kameido Tenmangu keidai no yuki, “The Compound of the Tenman Shrine at Kameido in Snow.” From a set of twenty-one prints Toto meisho, “Famous Views in the Eastern Capital” published by Sanoya Kihei, c 1834-5. The series was extended to fifty-five in c 1839-42. One of the most […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Station Fukushima from Kisokaido rokujukyutsugi no uchi, “Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido.” The set of seventy prints was started by Eisen and published by Hoeido in 1835, but in 1837 Hiroshige took over and completed the series with the publisher Iseya Rihei (Kinjudo). Fukushima was one of the […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Tobiuo, flying fish (probably Prognichthys) and ishimochi also called guchi or shiroguchi, white croaker, (probably Argyrosomus argenatus). Together with a single lily. Poem by Toshigaki Maharu. From the second series of ten fish prints published by Yamasho, c1840-42.The first series was issued privately for a poetry group ( […]
Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Fujikawa from the so-called “Upright Tokaido.” One of the two snow scenes from the set. Shows travelers coming and going at the edge of the village. Published by Tsutaya, Hare 7, 1855. Very good impression with wood-grain evident in the sky. Very good colour. Trimmed close, […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Iki Shisaku, “Shisaku in Iki [Province]” from a set of 69 prints [Dai Nihon] Rokujuyoshi meisho zue, “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces [of Japan]” published by Koshihei between 1853 and 1856, this being 1856. A heavy snowfall over Iki island which lies to the northeast of the […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Kai, Saruhashi, “Kai [Province], Monkey Bridge” from a set of 69 prints [Dai Nihon] Rokujuyoshi meisho zue, “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces [of Japan]” published by Koshihei between 1853 and 1856, this being 1853. The bridge spans the Katsura River and is an example of the hanebashi […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Mino, Yoro no taki, “Mino [Province], Yoro Waterfall” from a set of 69 prints [Dai Nihon] Rokujuyoshi meisho zue, “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces [of Japan]” published by Koshihei between 1853 and 1856, this being 1853. The 32 metre fall is 4 metres wide and is located […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Awa, Naruto no fuha, Naruto Whirlpools, Awa [Province]” from a set of 69 prints [Dai Nihon] Rokujuyoshi meisho zue, “Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces [of Japan]” published by Koshihei between 1853 and 1856, this being 1855. The finest print from the set and one of Hiroshige’s most […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. Station Annaka from Kisokaido rokujukyutsugi no uchi, “Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido.” Published by Kinjudo, the set was started by Eisen in 1835 who designed twenty-four prints before Hiroshige replaced him and completed the set before 1843. Shows the entourage of a feudal lord progressing along the road […]
Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Click here to view image full size. A group of three women picking mushrooms. Published c 1800. Another impression, from the Musee Guimet, is illustrated in Muneshige Narazaki, Ukiyo-e Masterpieces in European Collections, 6, Musee Guimet, Paris, 1, p. 176, no. 90. Fine impression. Very good colour and condition. Unsigned. Status: Sold
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. A snow scene from a set Edo komei kaitei zukushi, “Famous Teahouses of Edo,” Kameido uramon, Tamaya, “Back Gate of the Shrine at Kameido: The Tamaya Teahouse.” The set published by Shogendo, 1838-40. Very fine impression. Fine colour. Slight centre fold (strengthened au verso), otherwise very good condition. […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE II (1826-1869)
Click here to view image full size. Nikko Shimofuri no taki, “Shimofuri Waterfall in Nikko” from Shokoku meisho hyakkei, the “Hundred Views of Famous Places in the Provinces.” An uncompleted set of 81 prints published by Uoya Eikichi between 1859-1861 (this being 1859). Very fine impression of the first edition. Fine colour and […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE II (1826-1869)
Click here to view image full size. Gathering iwatake, rock tripe or rock mushrooms in Kii Province. The common name for various edible lichens that grow on cliffs. The gatherers used precarious baskets that were hauled up and down the cliff face to collect them. Kishu Kumano iwatake tori from Shokoku meisho hyakkei. “Hundred Views […]
BUNSEI (Active c. 1830 -1844)
Click here to view image full size. A complete set of Eight Views of Xiaoxiang, modern Hunan Province, China. These eight views were taken up by Japanese artists such as Hiroshige and transposed to Japan becoming sets like the Eight Views of Omi, etc. Bunsei was a pupil of Tani Buncho. He seems to have […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. The lumberyard, Fukugawa, from the set Meisho Edo hyakkei, “One Hundred Views of Edo.” The set published by Uoya Eikichi 1856-58 (this being 1856). The set comprises 118 prints by Hiroshige and another by Hiroshige II. However, three prints are dated 10/1858, the month following Hiroshige’s death and […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
Click here to view image full size. The great Sanjo Bridge, Kyoto. Number 55 from the Tokaido: Gojusantsugi published by Marusei, c 1848-49. Also known as the Reisho Tokaido. Shows figures on the bridge including Oharame carrying firewood and ladies with katsugi garments. In the distance is Higashiyama and Mt. Hiei. Fine impression, colour and […]
Utagawa HIROSHIGE II (1829-1869)
Click here to view image full size. A snow scene: Imadobashi Matsuchiyama, “Imado Bridge and Matsuchi Hill.” From Toto sanjurokkei, “Thirty-six Views of the Eastern [Edo] Capital.” The set published by Ai-To between 1861-1862 (this being 1862). Hiroshige I also designed a number of prints of the same area. The bridge goes over the Sanya […]