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Kiyochika | Fireworks at Ryogoku, One Hundred Views of Musashi (Reserved)

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小林清亲 Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847–1915)

武蔵百景之内 两国花火
Fireworks at Ryogoku, from the series of One Hundred Views of Musashi

1884

木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 37.5cm x 25cm
Woodblock-print | Oban-tate-e | 37.5cm x 25cm

早期版次带极为漂亮的木纹；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好
Very early impression with clear woodgrain, crisp printing and fine, rich color.

Koboyashi Kiyochika ranged far and wide over woodblock print genres during his career – from Western-style cityscapes to war prints to comic satire – but “100 Views of Musashi,” published in 1884 by Maraya Tetsujiro, is generally considered his masterpiece. It was an homage to Hiroshige’s legendary “100 Famous Views of Edo,” which was then 30 years in the past, and part of a trend in fast-modernizing Japan to recall the perhaps simpler ways of Edo times; the future, after all, can be scary.

‍And what could be more classic than this, a rear-view of a woman on a yakatabune pleasure boat – the nape of her neck exposed in all its sexy beauty – as she enjoys the summer-night fireworks at Ryogoku Bridge? The bridge, the fireworks, the little wooden boats that plied the waterways of Edo, were all classic Hiroshige elements. Many other Ukioye artists also captured the scene. But Kiyochika has puts his own spin on it. Most obviously: we see neither the fireworks nor the bridge – just the reflection in the waters of the Sumida River.

“100 Views of Musashi” was in the oban tate-e format, as was Hiroshige’s famous series, with cartouches and title boxes placed as Hiroshige’s were (although these feature synthetic pigments). In this design, they’ve been flipped to the left side. Almost all of the designs in this series feature dramatic and creative foreground elements competing with storied views in the background, as Hiroshige’s did.

And as we see here, spectacularly. This example has extraordinary color, with the reflected fireworks glittering and shimmering in the flowing waters. You can almost hear the joyous sake-fueled laughter on the other boats, and the booms! of the fireworks echoing over the river.

Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.

小林清亲 Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847–1915)

武蔵百景之内 两国花火
Fireworks at Ryogoku, from the series of One Hundred Views of Musashi

1884

木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 37.5cm x 25cm
Woodblock-print | Oban-tate-e | 37.5cm x 25cm

早期版次带极为漂亮的木纹；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好
Very early impression with clear woodgrain, crisp printing and fine, rich color.

Koboyashi Kiyochika ranged far and wide over woodblock print genres during his career – from Western-style cityscapes to war prints to comic satire – but “100 Views of Musashi,” published in 1884 by Maraya Tetsujiro, is generally considered his masterpiece. It was an homage to Hiroshige’s legendary “100 Famous Views of Edo,” which was then 30 years in the past, and part of a trend in fast-modernizing Japan to recall the perhaps simpler ways of Edo times; the future, after all, can be scary.

‍And what could be more classic than this, a rear-view of a woman on a yakatabune pleasure boat – the nape of her neck exposed in all its sexy beauty – as she enjoys the summer-night fireworks at Ryogoku Bridge? The bridge, the fireworks, the little wooden boats that plied the waterways of Edo, were all classic Hiroshige elements. Many other Ukioye artists also captured the scene. But Kiyochika has puts his own spin on it. Most obviously: we see neither the fireworks nor the bridge – just the reflection in the waters of the Sumida River.

“100 Views of Musashi” was in the oban tate-e format, as was Hiroshige’s famous series, with cartouches and title boxes placed as Hiroshige’s were (although these feature synthetic pigments). In this design, they’ve been flipped to the left side. Almost all of the designs in this series feature dramatic and creative foreground elements competing with storied views in the background, as Hiroshige’s did.

And as we see here, spectacularly. This example has extraordinary color, with the reflected fireworks glittering and shimmering in the flowing waters. You can almost hear the joyous sake-fueled laughter on the other boats, and the booms! of the fireworks echoing over the river.

Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.

Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847–1915)

Perhaps no Japanese woodblock print artist bridged the styles of the Edo and Meiji eras as well as Kobayashi Kiyochika. While some of his notable designs, especially his bijin or “beautiful women” prints, harkened back to the classic days of Ukiyoe, his later work documented the rapid modernization and Westernization of Japan. Indeed, he experimented — at times more successfully than others — with depicting light and shade in the manner of Western art.

Apparently self-taught, Kiychika’s first known prints date from the 1870s and are rampent with signs of modernization — red brick buildings and trains proliferate. Then he took a step back, creating “100 Famous Views of Musashi,” a modern hommage to Hiroshige and the beauty of then-vanishing traditional Japan. After this he mysteriously disappeared from the scene before emerging to focus on dramatic war scenes and more views of fast-evolving Tokyo. Later, he worked as a newspaper illustrator. He died in 1915, having travelled through time.