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