Original woodblock print triptych - Paper - Toyohara Yoshu Chikanobu (1838-1912) -'Choutou keiko' 長刀稽古(Naginata treaning) - From the series "Chiyoda no Ooku” 千代田の大奥 (Inner Palace at Chiyoda) - Japan - 1894 (Meiji 27) See Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/55856 This ukiyoe 42 series The signature says “Yoshu Chikanobu”揚州周延”. Poor condition, sheets secured together, tape residue on verso, discoloration, toning Toyohara Chikanobu (豊原周延), better known to his contemporaries as Yōshū Chikanobu (楊洲周延), was a prolific woodblock artist of Japan’s Meiji period. Chikanobu signed his artwork “Yōshū Chikanobu”(楊洲周延). This was his “art name”. The artist’s “real name” was Hashimoto Naoyoshi (橋本直義); and it was published in his obituary. Many of his earliest works were signed “studio of Yōshū Chikanobu” (楊洲齋周延) Yōshū-sai Chikanobu; a small number of his early creations were simply signed “Yōshū” (楊洲). At least one triptych from 1879 exists signed “Yōshū Naoyoshi” (楊洲直義). No works have surfaced that are signed either “Toyohara Chikanobu” or “Hashimoto Chikanobu”. “Ooku of Chiyoda” is a work by Toyohara Chikanobu. Edo Castle (also known as Chiyoda Castle) An assortment of Ooku’s annual events and the lives of the maids. The 40 series was published by Gusokuya in Nihonbashi, Tokyo from 1897 to 1929.This series is also a representative work of chikanobu. Publisher:Fukuda Hatsujirou 福田初次郎