Hiroshige · RARE Kabuki theatre district Saruwaka-machi · Kaomise

** A rare fine sheet by Hiroshige, this time from his Tōto meisho series. It shows Edo's kabuki district dressed up for the kaomise, the most important event of the theatre year, and it is a design that appeals to both landscape and kabuki collectors ** 歌川広重 — UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE (1797–1858) Decorations for the Kaomise at Saruwaka-machi (猿若町顔見世餝物, Saruwaka-machi kaomise kazarimono) From: Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (東都名所, Tōto meisho) Technique: Woodblock print (mokuhanga), polychrome (nishiki-e) on Japanese washi Date: 1847–52 (Kōka 4–Kaei 5) Publisher: Sanoya Kihei (佐野屋喜兵衛, Kikakudō) Censor seals: Kinugasa (衣笠) and Watanabe (渡辺) Signature: Utagawa Hiroshige ga (歌川広重画), on the banner at left Format: Ōban yoko-e, [35 × 24 cm] CONDITION Strong impression with colors very well preserved across the sheet. The paper is firm and supple with minor trimming outside the image area. A light centrefold. Please check the images carefully! The Place: Edo's New Theatre Town Saruwaka-machi was a product of the Tenpō Reforms. In 1842 the shogunate ordered Edo's three licensed kabuki theatres, the Nakamura-za, Ichimura-za and Kawarasaki-za, to move out of the city centre to a new site in Asakusa, at the edge of town near the Asakusa Kannon temple. The new theatre street was named Saruwaka-machi after Saruwaka Kanzaburō, who founded the Nakamura-za in the early 17th century and was regarded as the father of Edo kabuki. The move was meant to keep the theatres at a distance, but Saruwaka-machi quickly became one of the liveliest districts in Edo, and the three theatres stayed there until the Meiji period. The Kaomise: Showing the Faces The kaomise ("face-showing") opened the kabuki year in the 11th month. Each theatre signed its company of actors for the coming twelve months, and the kaomise performance introduced the new company to the public. It was the theatre's biggest occasion of the year. The facades were decorated with display pieces (kazarimono), lanterns and banners, and patrons and fan clubs sent gifts that were piled up outside. Theatre fans came out at night to see the decorations before the performances started. Hiroshige's title names exactly this: the decorations put up for the kaomise. The Series: Famous Places in the Eastern Capital Tōto meisho is the title Hiroshige used for many series of Edo views, issued by different publishers from the 1830s to the 1850s. This sheet belongs to the set published by Sanoya Kihei, which carries the paired censor seals used between 1847 and 1852. Because Saruwaka-machi only came into existence in 1842, this design shows Edo after the Tenpō Reforms. Impressions are held by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Edo-Tokyo Museum, and the design is catalogued in Sakai's Hiroshige Edo fūkei.

Schätzpreis:€300

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