-Picture Book- Children of the East- by Utagawa Toyohiro

-Picture Book- Children of the East- 1804

ink, color-on-paper

aged paper

toned paper

ink paper printed

book

japan

personal sketchbook

ink

color-on-paper

pen-ink sketch

ink colored

pen work

sketchbook drawing

sketchbook art

marker colouring

"Picture Book - Children of the East-" is a rare and valuable work by Utagawa Toyohiro, created in 1804. This small, illustrated book, measuring only 1/4 x 6 x 8 3/8 inches, showcases Toyohiro's masterful use of woodblock printing, a technique he helped popularize in Japan. The book features a collection of stories and illustrations, focusing on everyday life and traditional Japanese culture. The text itself is written in Japanese, offering a glimpse into the literary and artistic world of early 19th century Japan. Today, this book resides in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, serving as a testament to the artistic ingenuity and cultural significance of Japanese woodblock prints.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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A prolific designer of single-sheet prints, Utagawa Toyohiro also produced many books. He provided the illustrations for a number of bestselling novels, as well as the images of several picture books, like this one. For this book, one of a two-volume set, Toyohiro depicted twelve celebrations associated with specific temples or shrines in the city of Edo. The event depicted here is Shōga-ichi or the Ginger Fair at the Shinmei Shrine, located in the southern part of Edo. In September, the shrine hosts a fair in which townspeople sell their special, locally grown ginger, ginger-flavored candy and the like. Visitors also purchase chigi, tiered cylindrical boxes made at the shrine that were believed to have talismanic powers.