Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)

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"The Flowers of Edo: A Collection of Famous Places"

Edo no hana meisho-e

 

last updated:

new information: 03/13/10

 

For this large series Kunisada designed the Okubi-e (actor bust-portraits) and anywhere from another one to four other artists designed the rest of the work in each print.

After some years of research regarding this series Simon Henry gives the following summary in March 2010:

[1] The real title of the series is Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e, which translates as, The Flowers of Edo: A Collection of Famous Places.

[2] The series ran from the 12th month of 1862 to the 1st month of 1865. That means that Kunisada designed prints for this series right up until the last two weeks of his life - which is why the series ended prematurely. I have found evidence in the translated text that the series was planned to go to one hundred [100] prints but obviously never made it that far, as Kunisada died.

[3] Twenty-one artists in total collaborated in the production of this series. That makes it one of the biggest artist collaborations in all of Japan's greater art history and likely the largest artist collaboration within the entire Ukiyo-e period.

[4] Each print highlights the 'finest / most treasured' aspects of an individual Edo district - which is where the title comes into play, The Flowers of Edo. The panels in each of the works are in an arrangement that displays a Title Section [which has the name and Troop number of the local Fire Department in it], a Scene from the District, a Significant Story about the District and a Kabuki Actor portrait that relates to the District in some way [as well as classical songs, poetry, historical accounts and commercial advertisements that are associated with the famous locations too].

A NEW ANTIQUE JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINT [UKIYO-E] REFERENCE BOOK.

THE FLOWERS OF EDO: ASPECTS OF THE EDO-NO-HANA MEISHO-E PRINT SERIES
BY SIMON HENRY. 2010.

EXCLUSIVE BLACK LEATHER COVER [1ST] EDITION - LIMITED.
 

This book is the only work to examine the complete number of prints from the rare Ukiyo-e series, Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e. Of note is the clear and concise way in which the findings of the author's decade-long investigation are presented. Simon Henry offers succinct, key information concerning the print series in a format that serves as a quick find reference tool. The volume presents large, high-quality, full colour images of all seventy prints, which are accompanied by English translations of the ancient Japanese text. The Flowers of Edo: Aspects of the Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e Print Series stands as an indispensable source of Ukiyo-e art knowledge, ideal for students, teachers, historians, art dealers and collectors alike.

The Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e series is a beautiful and sophisticated instrument of ancient Japanese artistic and literary display. It is a body of work that chronicles the material and intellectual concerns of late Edo period Japan, not more than a few short years before it was irreversibly changed by the extensive social reforms of the Western-influenced Meiji Restoration.

The project is a means to explore something of the relationships between print artists of the time and with twenty-one contributing illustrators, stands as the largest collaborative enterprise ever completed with Japan's Ukiyo-e art history.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Simon Henry currently lives in Sydney, Australia. Holding Bachelor of Art Theory and Master of Art Administration degrees from the University of New South Wales, he has spent the last ten years researching the Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e Ukiyo-e print series.



 BOOK SECTION HEADINGS:
- Contents.
- The Series Title.
- A Collaboration of Artists.
- Production Period and Print Design Total.
- The Series Unfinished.
- Print Format.
- Word Play.
- The Significance of the Series.
- The Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e Print Series.
- Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e Artists.
- Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e Multi-Sheet Works.
- Key Terms.
- Credits.
- About the Author.
- References.
- Index.

DETAILS:
BOOK TITLE: The Flowers of Edo: Aspects of the Edo-no-Hana Meisho-e Print Series.
EDITION: 1st Edition - Signed by the Author.
ISBN: 978-0-646-52759-8.
NUMBER OF PAGES: 159.
SIZE: 215mm x 305mm.
COVER: Deluxe Black Leather Edition - with Gold Lettering.
BINDING: Stitched Binding.
PAPER: 160gsm - White.
LANGUAGE: English.
PICTURES / TEXT: Seventy-three [73] pages of full colour images and eighty-six [86] pages of text.
AUTHOR: Simon Henry. BArtTh. MArtAdmin.

PRICE: US$399.99

Please contact seller for details: simonhenry@optusnet.com.au

Data group 01 - 05 
Data group 06 - 10 
Data group 11 - 15 
matching ptychs 

OVERVIEW

title page

index page  
group 01:
     
group 02:
 
group 03:
   
group 04:

never published ?
group 05:
       
group 06:
       
group 07:

never published ?
group 08:
       
group 09:
 
group 10:
       
group 11:
     
group 12:

never published ?
group 13:
       
group 14:
       
group "beyond the realm of numbering":
 
         

some of the prints are matching as ptychs and in some cases the matching prints donīt belong to the same group:

Diptych:

 
 
group 11, group 01 group 14, group 01  
two of three (?):  
       
group 08, group 08      
Triptych:  
     
group 05, group 05, group 05      
Tetraptych:  
     
group 05, group 05, group 05, group 06      

 

TOP  
Data group 01 - 05  / Data group 06 - 10  / Data group 11 - 15 / matching ptychs
 references

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) - series and prints