Artist: Utagawa Kunisada 歌川国貞 (1786–1865), signing as Toyokuni II Title: Ki 黄 (Yellow) Series: Ukiyo Goshiki Awase 浮世五色合 (Comparison of Five Colours in the Floating World) Date: ca. 1843–47 (Tenpō 14 – Kōka 4) Publisher: Sanoya Kihei 佐野喜 (Kikakudō) Text: Shikitei Kosanba 式亭小三馬, with his seal Signature / seals: Signed Ōju Kunisada aratame nidai Toyokuni ga 應需国貞改二代豊国画 Technique: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and colour on paper Format: Ōban tate-e, approx. [24 × 36 cm] ----------------------------------- Condition: Good colours and a strong impression. The paper shows notable toning; the main composition remains well preserved. There is minor soiling at the left upper corner. Overall good condition. Please check the images! ----------------------------------- About the print: Ukiyo Goshiki Awase takes its theme from the five colours of classical Chinese and Japanese thought – blue-green, yellow, red, white and black – each tied to one of the five elements. Kunisada pairs each colour with a beauty of contemporary Edo, while the text above turns the colour into a witty little essay. Here the colour is yellow, which the text opens by linking to the element earth, before playing on the many meanings of yellow and gold (黄金, kogane) in everyday life, history and legend. The text was written by Shikitei Kosanba, son of the famous comic novelist Shikitei Sanba (author of Ukiyoburo, "The Floating World Bathhouse"), who carried on his father's literary name. This kind of collaboration between a popular writer and a leading print designer was typical of the 1840s, when the Tenpō reforms had banned prints of courtesans and actors, and publishers shifted to "educational" or literary themes as a framework for images of ordinary townswomen. The signature is itself a small piece of history. In 1844 Kunisada took the name of his teacher, Utagawa Toyokuni, and signed as "Toyokuni II" – although art historians today count him as Toyokuni III, since another pupil, Toyoshige, had used the name before him. Sheets signed "Kunisada aratame nidai Toyokuni" come from the first years after the name change, when Kunisada was at the height of his popularity and Edo's most productive print designer.