Hashimotoya Shiraito no Hanashi (The Story of Shiraito of Hashimoto-ya)

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Hashimotoya Shiraito no Hanashi ["The Story of Shiraito of Hashimoto-ya"]

[Tsukioka], Yoshitoshi [illustrated by].

Bakurochō, [Tōkyō]: Tsunajima Kamekichi, Meiji 19 [1886].

An ōban diptych of the courtesan Shiraito at the Hashimoto-ya pleasure house, from the Shinsen Azuma Nishiki-e ("Newly Selected Brocade Pictures of the East") series by the acclaimed ukiyo-e artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). Shiraito and her lover Suzuki Mondo purportedly took their own lives in 1801. Their deaths were sensationalised, and Shiraito quickly inspired characters in kabuki plays like Sumidagawa Tsui no Kagamon. The stunning image of the woodgrain on the left print exhibits the quality of the impression (the clarity of the woodgrain is lost in some printings, like item 1946,0209,0.137.1-2 at the BM). The block-cutter of this print was Watanabe Yatarō (1850-1913). A very clear impression. 

Two loose leaves, each woodblock-printed on one side. Extremities lightly worn. Browning and a few marks to leaves. Light stains to versos, showing through on the lower right section of the leftmost print. Each print measures approximately 36.6 x 25 cm.

Hashimotoya Shiraito no Hanashi (The Story of Shiraito of Hashimoto-ya)
Price: $680.00 (USD)