Kiyochika: Summer Night at Asakusa (Sold)

Artist: Kobayashi Kiyochika
Title: Summer Night at Asakusa
Series: Untitled series on places in Tokyo
Date: 1881

“Summer Night at Asakusa Kuramae”  (Asakusa Kuramae natsu [no] yoru). Smith describes this scene has having a “poetic blend of dusk and gaslight”. These evening street scenes communicate the alienation that the residents of Tokyo must have been feeling as a result of rapid westernization. Here the skyline shows a traditional row of buildings, but on the left are the newly erected gaslamps and telegraph poles, which must have been an astonishment. Kiyochika has also carefully spaced the silhouetted figures, giving them an apparition-like appearance. The feeling is of isolation and loneliness despite the newfangled street lights. Very beautifully printed, this is an early impression.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. 
Dimensions: ôban horizontal (24.7 x 36.3 cm)
Publisher: Fukada Komajirô
Signature: Kobayashi Kiyochika
Literature: Shown in “Kiyochika: Artist of Meiji Japan” by Henry D. Smith II, number 23, page 35.

SKU: KYC391