Kunisada: Monkey Stealing Snack by Kyosai with Geisha Unrolling a Letter (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Title: Ukeji Brigade, Extra (Bangai), Akiba: Actor Onoe Eizaburô 4.5 (later Kawarazaki Kunitarô II) as the Geisha Oshun 芸者おしゆん　尾上栄三郎

Series: Edo no hana meisho-e 江戸廼花名勝会 (Flowers of Edo and Views of Famous Places) Date: 1863

Onoe Eizaburo IV in the role of the geisha Oshun, lower right. She holds a brush in her teeth as she unrolls a letter she must be in the process of writing. To the left is a trained monkey atop a platform; another monkey has climbed down and reaches to pull the topknot of a customer who has just taken a seat to eat a snack that consists of a spherical delicacy on a stick. The monkey has grabbed one of these snacks with one foot, causing the woman to stand up from their shared bench and the man to and the man to tumble to the ground, snack still in mouth and his loose change pouring out at his feet. This oversized monkey scene is by Kawanabe Kyosai, master of the comic image. The image at left is signed “Oju Sesei Kyosai” and Shogetsu for the top left image. 

The term “flowers of Edo” (Edo no hana) can refer, among other things, to fires. The title panel for each print in this series shows the lanterns and identifying standard (matoi) for one of the brigades of firefighters (hikeshi) assigned to various districts. On the west side of the Sumida River were 48 brigades named for the symbols of the kana syllabary and grouped into 8 numbered groups (1 to 10, minus the bad-luck numbers 4 and 7). On the east side of the river, brigades were numbered and assigned to directional groups. Outlying districts were covered by special brigades, here designated “extra” (bangai). Each title gives the name or number of a brigade, its group, and its district, followed by the kabuki scene chosen to match it. Each print highlights the most famous aspects of an individual district in Edo, and includes a scene from the district and a kabuki actor portrait that relates to the place in some way. There is a lot going on in each design, as in the upper right are the standards and lanterns for specific fire brigades, and on the upper left are usually magic lantern slides. Then there are one or two designs that comprise the lower portion, with Kunisada designing the actor portrait and various (21! in total for the series) other artists designing the landscape scenes. 

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. Paper strip remnant, verso.

Dimensions: ôban (35.3 x 24.2 cm)
Publisher: Katôya Iwazoô (Seibei)
Literature: Kaikan sanjû shûnen kinen Kawanabe Kyôsai kinen bijutsukan cat. (2008), p. 102, #0771. See MFA: MFA impressions 11.42532, 11.44621, 11.45155, 11.45396.7 (creped). Signature: Toyokuni ga

SKU: KUS570