pre 1790

Comment - Charming scene by Isoda KORYUSAI (湖龍斎) of  a young lady and a small boy looking at an edo kaku kite with long paper tails. The kite is painted with a portrait of the kabuki star actor Otani Hiroji-III (1748~1802), as to be seen by his prominent chest. The boy holds a classical kite spool in his right hand. His garment carries a slight vertical embossing.

The vertically arranged diptychon is a Hashira-e, or pillar print. A Hashira-e is a narrow print format originally intended for decoration of the supporting pillars in traditional Japanese houses. The prints would have been pasted to the pillars and exposed to the elements of the Japanese household, making those that have survived very rare collectibles. While these more unusual sizes present their own challenges to the printing process, they also allow the artist to be experimental, imaginative, and innovative with the design’s compositional limitations.


Series - ~


Artist - see Biography


Signature - KORYU - ga  (湖龍 画) , upper lower panel right;


Publisher - unknown


Image Size - 58.4 X 12.0 cm     (23" x 4 2/3" )


Condition - diptych, vertical arrangement (hashira-e), nishiki-e (cloured woodblock);