SAKURAGAWA, ONE OF THE SET OF 100 LIBRETTI OF NO PLAYS, DESIGNED BY HON'AMI KOETSU (1558-1637)

Details

Anonymous, Edo Period (Early 17th Century)
Sakuragawa, one of the set of 100 libretti of no plays, designed by Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637)
One jo or volume, bound in tetchoso style, Saga-bon movable type, pale blue covers treated with gofun, overprinted with a continuous design of pine trees on the sea shore in mica [kira-zuri], text paper in thick ganpi treated with gofun and tinted in various shades of pale blue, yellow, pink, buff and white, no mica ornamentation on the text pages, clear and sharp impression, good condition; and a single volume printed book of utensils used in tea-ceremony, with verses by Takuan, dated 1839
9 x 6½in. (23.8 x 17.5cm.), printed area 7½ x 5 7/8in. (19.0 x 15.0cm.) approximately and 10¼ x 7¼in. (26.2 x 18.5cm.) (2)

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

Lot Essay

For an example in the British Library see Kenneth B. Gardner, Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese Books in the British Library Printed before 1700 (London and Tenri, Japan 1993), pp. 530-2.

This volume probably belongs to Type No. 2 of Saga-bon edition as classified by Kawase.1

1 Kazuma Kawase, Saga-bon zuko (Tokyo, 1932), pp. 63-64, pl. 38-40

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