Comment - Scene of two boys preparing to fly an Edo kite ("Edo-tako", "江戸凧") which features a scene from the Sino-Japanese War (1898) of an Imperial Army officer battling with a Chinese enemy. Note the Western haircuts of the two boys versus the traditional appearance of the Chinese warrior. One child holds the kite as the other carefully attends to the lines, a spool of string lying on the ground nearby, the thick tail ropes curling on the ground. Two kites already flutter high overhead, a yakko-dako or man kite ("yakko dako", "奴凧") and another Edo kite. An intriguing image with delicate embossing in the spool and soft shading in the background. (Titles of print and series below kite spool, mimicking pebbles.)


Series - Series: Children's Manners and Customs ("Kodomo fuzoku" or "Ko kyō fūzoku", "小供風俗")


Artist - see Biography


Signature - "Miagawa SHUNTEI" ("宮川 春汀") red artist's seal center right, and last line of the 'pebbles' on lower center


Publisher -  Akiyama Bueman (秋山 ぶえまん)


Image Size -   21.0 x 29.8 cm  (8 1/4" x 11 3/4" + margins)


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