Comment - Picturing a geisha leaning against a red brocade background. The "Beauty with a Kite" is from a series pairing beauties with famous restaurants in Tokyo. The geisha smiles happily as she looks over her shoulder, holding a purple and white checked Edo kite ("Edo-tako", "江戸凧") with a circular medallion featuring the kanji character for 'writing' ("Kanji kite", "ji tako", "字凧"). She wears a deep blue kimono tied with a green plaid obi over a red under robe, the white collar delicately embossed. The upper left cartouche shows the views of the garden entrance to the restaurant with stepping stones leading to the entrance. The background features a red tie-dyed textile pattern above with a floral design below. A charming subject with fine detail in the hair and an embossed line to indicate the side of the nose.


Series - This print is from the series Thirty-six Tokyo Restaurants which pairs famous geishas with famous Tokyo eateries. In the series, the squared panel at top left shows either speciality dishes or views from the eatery. The large yellow cartouche on the right shows the series's title, name of the geisha and the restaurant's address. The geisha's name in this print is unread. The name of the restaurant is "Kingo-Ro" ("金五郎"). Whether the publisher or the artist received compensation for the free advertising given to the restaurants portrayed is unknown nor is it known if KUNICHIKA personally knew the women in the prints. In 1878 KUNICHIKA designed another series named "Thirty-six Modern Restaurants" ("Kaika Sanjūroku kaiseki") which also paired restaurants with beautiful women.


Artist - see Biography


Signature - "Kunichika hitsu" ("国周筆", "drawn by KUNICHIKA") (white cassette, center left side) with his red ring seal (Otoshidama-in 年玉印).


Publisher - Yorozuya Magobei (万屋 孫兵衛)


Image Size - 35.9 x 24.4 cm   (14 1/8" x 9 5/8" + margins as shown) plus margins as shown


Condition - single panel; nishiki-e (cloured woodblock); Vertical ôban (ôban tate-e);