Kuniyoshi 国芳: Beauty Gazing at the Moon compared to the Poet Fujiwara no Takamitsu (藤原高光)

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861)
Title: Beauty Gazing at the Moon compared to the Poet Fujiwara no Takamitsu (藤原高光)
Series: Moral Teaching for Young Girls Mirrored in the Thirty-six Poets. (Sanjûrokkasen dôjo kyôkun kagami, 三十六歌仙童女教訓鏡)
Date: Ca. 1841 3

Here we scene of a beautiful woman gazing up at the moon, but cover from the scrutiny of the censors of the tim has been given by the title, “Moral Teaching for Young Girls Mirrored in the Thirty-six Poets” At the time of this print, the Tenpô Reforms were in full swing, and images of courtesans, long a major subject of ukiyo-e, were banned by the government under a raft of strict censorship laws. This beauty gazes rather dreamily up at the moon, and she is compared with the 10th century poet Fujiwara no Takamitsu, who no doubt composed many a poem about the transcendence of the moon. She wears a beautiful kimono decorated with a paulownia flower pattern. The paulownia crest is today used as the symbol of the Japanese government.

Condition: Excellent impression, and color; very good condition. Minor, nearly invisible repairs near left margin
Dimensions: ôban (36.8 x 25.5 cm)
Publisher: Wakasa-ya Yoichi
Literature: Robinson S98. See British Museum online.
Signature: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga

SKU: KUY576