Antique Japanese Original Woodblock Print Triptych by Kunisada II -Clearing Weather after Storm with Prince Genji- c. He was a pupil of Kunisada, married his daughter, and inherited his art house. He worked in much the same manner as his teacher, creating portraits of warriors, scenes from Kabuki plays, and portraits of beauties in the bijin-ga genre. This print is a triptych – a three-sheet print called “Clearing Weather in Awazu” (Awazu Seiran) – from the series “Eight Views of Omi” (Omi hakkei no uchi). It depicts four women and a man under the blossoming sakura trees. This is Prince Genji and his female companions. Or, rather, Mitsuji, aka “Rustic Genji”, the main character in the book “Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji”. In 1825, Ryutei Tanehiko began a serial novel called “Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji” (The false Murasaki and the Rustic Genji), which follows the storyline of the original novel “The Tale of Genji” by Lady Murasaki Shikibu (978 -1014). However,’The Rustic Genji is set in the 15th century, and the love affairs of Prince Genji take place in the licensed quarters, rather than at court as in the original novel. The popularity of “The Rustic Genji” inspired many prints and series of prints. Many artists designed comparable prints associating courtesans with different chapters of “The Tale of Genji”. It is interesting to notice that a print with the same title from the same titled series was created by Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige, but with a completely different image. Kunisada II titled his series and the prints from it after Hiroshige on purpose – to trick the censors. At some point, the prints illustrated the “Rustic Genji” book were banned – don’t ask why, it was a common thing in the Edo period Japan to ban things that became too popular. The print was made using the Japanese woodblock technique in 1847 during Kunisada’s lifetime. All three sheets of the triptych are signed with Kunisada II’s signature Nidaime Kunisada ga (on right sheet), Baichôrô Kunisada ga (on center sheet), Ichijusai Kunisada ga (on left sheet), and stamped with the publisher’s seal of Tsutaya Kichizo (Koeido). AUTHOR: Utagawa Kunisada II (Toyokuni IV) PUBLISHER: Tsutaya Kichizo (Koeido) TITLE: “Clearing Weather in Awazu” (Awazu Seiran) SERIES: “Eight Views of Omi” (Omi hakkei no uchi) PAPER. The condition is good. Good detail and colors, some toning and soiling of the paper. Please look at the pictures – they are part of the condition description. The prints are backed with washi paper. Please see the photos for the detailed conditions. Auctiva offers Free Image Hosting and Editing. Track Page Views With.
