Latest news with #TsutayaJuzaburo
Yomiuri Shimbun
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Kitagawa Utamaro Ukiyo-e Print Rediscovered After 43 Years; Edo Period Artwork to Go on Display at Tokyo Museum
'Young Woman Blowing a Poppin' by Kitagawa Utamaro An early print of an ukiyo-e by Kitagawa Utamaro, titled 'Young Woman Blowing a Poppin,' has been rediscovered after being missing for about 43 years, according to the Tokyo National Museum. The print will be on display from May 20 at the museum's current special exhibition in Ueno Park, Tokyo, 'Tsutaya Juzaburo: Creative Visionary of Edo.' Utamaro's depictions of beautiful women in ukiyo-e woodblock prints, published by Tsutaya Juzaburo, contributed to his rise in popularity starting around 1792. 'Young Woman Blowing a Poppin' was used in both the 'Fujinsogaku Jittei' (10 physiognomic types of women) series and the 'Fujoninso Jippon' (10 classes of women's physiognomy) series that followed. Only one other copy of this work from early in the printing of the Fujinsogaku Jittei series has been confirmed, and it is part of the Honolulu Museum of Art's collection in Hawaii. The recently rediscovered artwork had been auctioned in Paris in the early 1980s and its subsequent whereabouts were unknown for an extended period. In March, the Tokyo National Museum was contacted by a Tokyo-based art dealer who reported possessing the work, the museum said Monday. A museum researcher confirmed its authenticity. Ukiyo-e prints are prone to fading with exposure to light. 'It seems to have been carefully stored, and the vibrant purple of the kimono remains remarkably well-preserved. The crisp outlines of the prints, a feature unique to early works, are also a key feature,' said museum researcher Kana Murase.
The Mainichi
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Kitagawa Utamaro's woman portrait found after 44 years, to be shown at Tokyo Nat'l Museum
TOKYO -- A signature piece by famous Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro titled "Young Woman Blowing a Glass Pipe (poppin)" was discovered for the first time in 44 years, the Tokyo National Museum in the capital's Ueno district announced on May 12. Until now, the only known copy of this particular "bijin okubi-e," or portraits of beautiful women, was the one held by the Honolulu Museum of Art in the United States. Young Woman Blowing a Glass Pipe is featured in Utamaro's series "Ten Types in the Physiognomic Study of Women" (Fujin Sogaku Jittei), which was produced by publisher Tsutaya Juzaburo. The rediscovered work is one of Utamaro's earliest ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints and is believed to have been created around 1792 to 1793, during the Kansei era (1789-1801). A nearly identical design later appeared in another series believed to have been produced after this one, titled "Ten Classes of Women's Physiognomy" (Fujo Ninso Jippon). Only a handful of works from both series combined are known to exist worldwide. According to Kana Murase, a researcher at the Tokyo National Museum, the art piece had been unaccounted for since being sold at an auction in Paris in 1981. Its whereabouts was confirmed this March after information was provided by a Japanese art dealer. The piece had once been part of the collection of Ernest Le Veel, who opened an art gallery in Paris in the late 19th century. Murase noted, "Its condition is exceptionally good, with vivid colors such as the purple of the kimono, and the sharpness of the outlines is particularly striking." The work will be on special display starting May 20 as part of the special exhibition "Tsutaya Juzaburo: Creative Visionary of Edo."
