Yoshitoshi, Moon of the Pleasure Quarters, Iconic Japanese Woodblock Print

Yoshitoshi, Moon of the Pleasure Quarters, Iconic Japanese Woodblock Print

Yoshitoshi, Moon of the Pleasure Quarters, Iconic Japanese Woodblock Print

Yoshitoshi, “Moon of the Pleasure Quarters, ” 1886, Japanese woodblock print. This is a STUNNING image from one of the most ICONIC. And classic series in the history of Japanese art: Yoshitoshi’s One Hundred Aspects of the Moon. It is priced below market value in order to sell. We see a courtesan walkingbeneath a full moon in the pleasure quarters; her faced is turned towards themoon, whose face perhaps as proxy beams down upon the viewer from behind a treebranch. The little girl, her kamuro (assistant), seems to be watching thepetals fall, or perhaps she is politely turning to wait. The courtesan herselfseems rather remote in her towering geta-the sight of falling cherry petals wasshorthand for the transience of life, and in the case of a courtesan, in thetransience of the power of her beauty. This seems to be a stroll ofcontemplation rather than any one of the formal processions that the courtesansperformed. This is a very early impression, and there is blindprinting inthe square cartouche and the lacquer-imitating effect on her black geta. Title: Moon of the Pleasure Quarters. Series: One Hundred Aspects of the Moon. Some toning and age-appropriate staining, but basically a nice piece in good condition. Dimensions: ôban 35.6 x 24 cm Publisher: Akiyama Buemon Literature: John Stevenson, Yoshitoshi’s One Hundred Aspects of theMoon (San Francisco: San Francisco Graphic Society, 1992), number 24. SeeBritish Museum, Portland Art Museum, MFA Boston museum collections. Seal: Yoshitoshi Signature: Yoshitoshi. Provenance : The Japanese Gallery, Kensington, London. This item is in the category “Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Prints”. The seller is “fanoffubaoshi” and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.
  • Primary Material: Paper
  • Original/Reproduction: Antique Original
  • Region of Origin: Japan
  • Age: 1850-1899
  • Maker: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) 芳年