Illustrated woodblock (163 x 253 x 20 mm.), carved on both sides, for leaves 17 and 18 in the fifth series (of seven) of an illustrated story called Inazumagata nezumibyōshi 稲妻形怪鼠標子

N.p.: [1855].


A well-kept printing woodblock from the end of the Edo period, bearing vividly carved illustrations and text on both sides. These illustrations are after the work of Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川 国芳 (1798-1861), whom Hillier considered “one of the great ukiyo-e artists of the nineteenth century”–The Art of the Japanese Book, p. 890. Kuniyoshi frequently contributed to erotic books. The present book, by Rakutei Saiba 楽亭西馬 (1799-1858), fits within the genre of gōkan, a fusion of popular fiction and romance, embellished with intricate imagery laced with calligraphic text.


From the woodblock’s abbreviated title in the (truncated) hashira (pillar), we were able to find the complete title and publication information in NIJL. The hashira also provides the leaf numbers. Most of the woodblock is covered with imagery or text, the characters’ names are noted in small boxes. Our woodblock is a superb example of the virtuosic carving necessary for these illustrations, with multiple layers for patterns and the background.


A near fine example; minor worming affecting mostly the text and in one instance a small part of an illustration. (Inventory #: 10968)