Chikanobu: Fue Fuku 吹く笛 (Beauty Playing the Flute)

Artist: Yōshū Chikanobu (1838-1912)
Title: Fue Fuku 吹く笛 (Playing the Flute)

Series: Fuku Zukushi. “Customs of the East: A Collection of Fuku Words” 東風俗福つくし  Date: 1889

A young woman plays the flute beneath the full moon. She is in an iris garden, and her companion looks on with graceful charm, fan in hand. Both convey poise in their elegant clothing and beautiful surroundings.  This amusing series elaborates on words containing the sound “Fuku”; here we also see “Huye HUKU” in romaji in the title cartouche.  Fuku (huku) also means blessings, or good fortune, while “fue fuku” means playing the flute.

Chikanobu is one of the few ukiyo-e artists to be the eldest son of a samurai family. He was a retainer of the Sakakibara clan of the Takada Domain. He studied first with Kuniyoshi, and then with Kunisada, and then with Kunichika. In 1868 Chikanobu actually participated in the Battle of Ueno during the Boshin War as a samurai of his domain. He resumed his career as an ukiyo-e artist around 1875. 

Condition: Excellent/Very good impression; excellent  color and condition.

Dimensions: ôban (36.6 x 25 cm) Publisher: Takegawa Unokichi
Signature: Yôshû Chikanobu-hitsu 

SKU: CHK094