Kuniyoshi 国芳: Courtesans Boarding a Pleasure Boat in Springtime on the Sumida River
Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi 国芳 (1798-1861)
Title: Present Flourishing Time of Spring Scene 當盛春景色 (Tôsei haru-geshiki) or “An Up-to-date Spring View” Date: ca. 1829
Fabulous spring scene of courtesans and their attendants preparing to board a yakata-bune, a type of roofed pleasure boat with tatami mats and low tables. The two on the left are aboard, the rest are still on a jetty on the Sumida River. Considering the amount of time, expense, and energy it would take for these women to look as fantastically picture perfect as humanly possible, we can understand why sometimes their expressions in this situation have a subtle underlying apprehension. The last thing they would want would be to take a wrong step and ruin their hard-fought outfits, hair and makeup.
The title , tôse 当世 was often used to depict a contemporary scene, such as in Kunisada’s series “tôse harugeshiki” 当世春景色 (Present Time Spring Scene)in oban single sheets, but that character, tôse 当世 meaning “present time” differs from this Kuniyoshi’s tôsei 當盛, (though writing is similar), which means “flourishing in the present time”.
Three courtesans on the left and the center sheet look at the courtesan on the right sheet. They seem to be involved in conversation. The center courtesan is preparing kaishi papers and the right one in black kimono is taking out kaishi from her obi tie. Two attendants are crouching down, probably getting ready to take off their geta sandals. They are expecting guests to arrive to entertain during cherry blossom blooming spring season. The bank of the Sumida River is one of the famous sites for cherry blossom viewing in spring, and we see the explosion of blossoms lining the riverbank.
This is a very early bijin design by Kuniyoshi, and the faces of his women have yet to take on the characteristic roundness that we see in later designs. We feel Kuniyoshi’s touch in the unusual viewpoint of the crouching attendant at right, as well as the attendant in the middle. Their expressions are less neutral than the composed discipline we see in the faces of the courtesans. In the background we see what looks to be a cormorant holding up a wiggling eel. Very scarce, especially in this condition. The MFA Boston Museum has only the two left sheets.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Untrimmed and unbacked, with near-pristine colors. Dimensions: ôban triptych (36.4 x 25.8 cm each sheet)
Publisher: Oomi-ya Heihachi 近江屋平八 References: Kuniyoshi: 150th Memorial Retrospective: Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 2011, p. 164, no. 184. MFA Boston for two left sheets.
Signature: Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga 一勇斎國芳画
SKU: KUY636
