Comment -The above woodblock shows the 'Sakuma Street outside Kanda', now a ward in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. An Edo kite ("Edo-tako", "江戸凧") with the daimio's cap is caught by the kiteline, the astonished daimio seems not to be amused, and spectators are laughing. A Yakko ("yakko dako", "奴凧") or man kite is fluttering high in the sky, the yakko legs as kite tails , swept by the wind. These gentle comic scene creates a fun twist on the usual famous views of Edo, offering a humorous and entertaining look at daily life.


Series - The Series "Comical Views of Famous Places in Edo" has about 46 sheets, some of them with a parody of HIROSHIGE's well known woodblocks. Number "10" (above), number "29", and number "44" contain kite scenes. Hirokage was a student of Hiroshige. Around 1860 he produced a series, parodying Hiroshige's "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo." These comic views illustrate humorous mishaps and accidents, such as workmen falling off scaffolding and ending up covered in plaster, or a man tripping and upsetting noodles all over the head of his friend. Other images poke fun at traditions, with a badger parading as shogun or kite flying using a daimyo's cap as a weight on the kite string. These comic scenes create a fun twist on the usual famous views of Edo, offering a humorous and entertaining look at daily life.


Artist - see Biography


Signature -  lower left ("Hirokage ga" / "広景画"); censors seal on lower left rim "Goat 10 aratame"


Publisher - Tsujioka-ya Bunsuke (辻岡屋文助), Kinshōdō Publisher's (金松堂) lower left rim


Image Size - 22.2 x 33.3 cm (8 3/4" x 13 1/8") + margins as shown


Condition - single sheet; nishiki-e (cloured woodblock); Vertical ôban; Tate-e (portrait)