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Lot Essay
published:
Azabu Museum of Art, ed., Azabu bijutsukan: Shuzohin zuroku (Azabu Museum of Art: Catalogue of the collection) (Tokyo: Azabu Museum of Art, 1986), no. 26.
Azabu Museum of Art, and Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, eds., Nikuhitsu ukiyo-e meihin ten: Azabu bijutsukan shozo/Ukiyo-e Painting Masterpieces in the Collection of the Azabu Museum of Art, introduction by Kobayashi Tadashi, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Azabu Museum of Art; Osaka: Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, 1988), pl. 14.
Azabu Museum of Arts and Crafts, and Japan Institute of Arts and Crafts, eds., Edo no fashon, kaikan kinen ten, Part 1: Nikuhitsu ukiyo-e ni miru onnatachi no yosooi/"Fashion of Edo": Women's dress in Ukiyo-e Paintings, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Azabu Museum of Arts and Crafts, 1989), pl. 14.
Fuzoku byobu meihin ten: Edo no ukiyo to sugata (Exhibition of masterpieces of genre screens: The floating world and the figures of Edo), exh. cat. (Tokyo: Nihon Fuzokushi Gakkai, 1970), no. 38.
Kobayashi Tadashi, ed., Azabu bijutsu kogeikan (Azabu Museum of Arts and Crafts), vol. 6 of Nikuhitsu ukiyo-e taikan (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1995), pls. 15--1, 15--2.
Suntory Museum of Art, ed., Hishikawa Moronobu ten: 300nen kinen ukiyo-e tanjo (Exhibition of Hishikawa Moronobu: 300-year anniversary of the birth of ukiyo-e), introduction by Kobayashi Tadashi, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Suntory Museum of Art, 1994), ref. no. F.
When the New Yoshiwara pleasure district opened after the burning of the original Yoshiwara in the Great Meireki Fire of 1657, it quickly became a staple theme for the painters interested in documenting the burgeoning "floating world." Hishikawa Moronobu led the way in this endeavor. A number of screens from his workshop include the Yoshiwara paired with scenes of kabuki or other famous sights of Edo, such as Ueno. Often seasonal references would be included as well. Because the present screen depicts autumn, its missing mate would most likely have been devoted to spring.
Autumn in the Yoshiwara centers on Nakanocho, the main avenue of this thriving area. The composition is divided into three sections along this horizontal axis, replicating the temporal sequence of Yoshiwara protocol. At the right we encounter the latticed enclosures where the brightly-clad, elaborately-coiffed women sit on display, oogled by a crowd of sightseers and potential customers (some disguised with basket-like hats to hide their identities). There is a casual air about the scene as the women strum the musical instruments known as shamisen and chat with passers-by. In one unusual vignette, a prostitute reaches through the cage to tease a blind man by tapping him with her fan. To the left of this cage-like room sits a great barrel of water, topped by buckets, a reminder of the ever-present danger of the fire which demolished the original Yoshiwara. The central scene includes the procession of a higher-class prostitute and her entourage; such women were not obliged to sit in the cages to which their less elevated sisters were consigned. The courtesan parades in front of a row of teahouses, known as ageya, where assignations were contracted. For this semi-private interlude the artist has taken pleasure in showing off his ability to depict forms set discreetly behind bamboo blinds. The final scene shows the consummation of the transaction, which was not necessarily sexual intercourse but rather a kind of hedonistic playful sociability: in the elegantly-appointed room a customer is offered sake while being massaged by a blind masseur; another, surrounded by a bevy of enchanting male and female attendants, is being served delicacies and drink; a third reclines on a red carpet, listening to a shamisen performance while being fondled by a small girl.
Autumn in the Yoshiwara owes its composition and motifs to Hishikawa Moronobu. In addition to the many screens attributed to him, Moronobu also issued a set of single-sheet monochrome prints which presents many of the same scenes in episodic form. The treatment of the faces here is slightly different from Moronobu's, however, especially in the greater emphasis given to the eyes. It has been suggested that this screen might be by Hishikawa Morohira, Moronobu's foremost pupil. For a very similar screen by Hishikawa Morohira in the collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, see Idemitsu Art Gallery, ed., Shoki fuzokuga to nikuhitsu ukiyo-e (Early genre painting and ukiyo-e painting) (Tokyo: Idemitsu Art Gallery, 1972), color plate, n.p.; also Kobayashi, op. cit., p. 198.
Azabu Museum of Art, ed., Azabu bijutsukan: Shuzohin zuroku (Azabu Museum of Art: Catalogue of the collection) (Tokyo: Azabu Museum of Art, 1986), no. 26.
Azabu Museum of Art, and Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, eds., Nikuhitsu ukiyo-e meihin ten: Azabu bijutsukan shozo/Ukiyo-e Painting Masterpieces in the Collection of the Azabu Museum of Art, introduction by Kobayashi Tadashi, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Azabu Museum of Art; Osaka: Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, 1988), pl. 14.
Azabu Museum of Arts and Crafts, and Japan Institute of Arts and Crafts, eds., Edo no fashon, kaikan kinen ten, Part 1: Nikuhitsu ukiyo-e ni miru onnatachi no yosooi/"Fashion of Edo": Women's dress in Ukiyo-e Paintings, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Azabu Museum of Arts and Crafts, 1989), pl. 14.
Fuzoku byobu meihin ten: Edo no ukiyo to sugata (Exhibition of masterpieces of genre screens: The floating world and the figures of Edo), exh. cat. (Tokyo: Nihon Fuzokushi Gakkai, 1970), no. 38.
Kobayashi Tadashi, ed., Azabu bijutsu kogeikan (Azabu Museum of Arts and Crafts), vol. 6 of Nikuhitsu ukiyo-e taikan (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1995), pls. 15--1, 15--2.
Suntory Museum of Art, ed., Hishikawa Moronobu ten: 300nen kinen ukiyo-e tanjo (Exhibition of Hishikawa Moronobu: 300-year anniversary of the birth of ukiyo-e), introduction by Kobayashi Tadashi, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Suntory Museum of Art, 1994), ref. no. F.
When the New Yoshiwara pleasure district opened after the burning of the original Yoshiwara in the Great Meireki Fire of 1657, it quickly became a staple theme for the painters interested in documenting the burgeoning "floating world." Hishikawa Moronobu led the way in this endeavor. A number of screens from his workshop include the Yoshiwara paired with scenes of kabuki or other famous sights of Edo, such as Ueno. Often seasonal references would be included as well. Because the present screen depicts autumn, its missing mate would most likely have been devoted to spring.
Autumn in the Yoshiwara centers on Nakanocho, the main avenue of this thriving area. The composition is divided into three sections along this horizontal axis, replicating the temporal sequence of Yoshiwara protocol. At the right we encounter the latticed enclosures where the brightly-clad, elaborately-coiffed women sit on display, oogled by a crowd of sightseers and potential customers (some disguised with basket-like hats to hide their identities). There is a casual air about the scene as the women strum the musical instruments known as shamisen and chat with passers-by. In one unusual vignette, a prostitute reaches through the cage to tease a blind man by tapping him with her fan. To the left of this cage-like room sits a great barrel of water, topped by buckets, a reminder of the ever-present danger of the fire which demolished the original Yoshiwara. The central scene includes the procession of a higher-class prostitute and her entourage; such women were not obliged to sit in the cages to which their less elevated sisters were consigned. The courtesan parades in front of a row of teahouses, known as ageya, where assignations were contracted. For this semi-private interlude the artist has taken pleasure in showing off his ability to depict forms set discreetly behind bamboo blinds. The final scene shows the consummation of the transaction, which was not necessarily sexual intercourse but rather a kind of hedonistic playful sociability: in the elegantly-appointed room a customer is offered sake while being massaged by a blind masseur; another, surrounded by a bevy of enchanting male and female attendants, is being served delicacies and drink; a third reclines on a red carpet, listening to a shamisen performance while being fondled by a small girl.
Autumn in the Yoshiwara owes its composition and motifs to Hishikawa Moronobu. In addition to the many screens attributed to him, Moronobu also issued a set of single-sheet monochrome prints which presents many of the same scenes in episodic form. The treatment of the faces here is slightly different from Moronobu's, however, especially in the greater emphasis given to the eyes. It has been suggested that this screen might be by Hishikawa Morohira, Moronobu's foremost pupil. For a very similar screen by Hishikawa Morohira in the collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, see Idemitsu Art Gallery, ed., Shoki fuzokuga to nikuhitsu ukiyo-e (Early genre painting and ukiyo-e painting) (Tokyo: Idemitsu Art Gallery, 1972), color plate, n.p.; also Kobayashi, op. cit., p. 198.