Famous Views of Edo Selected for the Twelve Months

(Edo meisho mitate jû-ni ka gwatsu no uchi)

Publisher: Yahata-ya Sakujirô

1852

This series shows bust portraits of kabuki actors in character against landscapes. Each print is associated with a different month. The cartouche in the right upper corner is bordered by objects from the play. This series is listed as number 210 in Kuniyoshi by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961). The prints in this series are each about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a size known as ôban. I am indebted to Guy Pepermans for supplying the descriptions of these prints.

Number: 1

Location: Asakusa

Actor: Actor as Miyagino

Number: 2

Location: Ôji

Actor: Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII as Kosan no Kingorô in the kabuki play ‘Shinyoshiwara Suzume’

Number: 3

Location: Fuwa District

Actor: Actor Ichikawa Ebizo V as Banzaemon in Fuwa (part of kabuki jûhachiban)

Number: 4

Location: Kameido

Actor: Bandô Hikasaburô IV (?) as Teranishi Kanshin

Number: 5

Location: Takanawa

Actor: Iwai Kumesaburô III as Ofune

Number: 6

Location: Sanno Festival

Actor: Nakamura Utaemon IV as Uoya Danshichi Kurobei in the kabuki play ‘Yadonashi Danshichi shigure no karakasa’

Number: 7

Location: Sumida River

Actor: Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII as Motome in the kabuki play ‘Imoseyama onna teikin’ performed at the Kawarazaki Theater in the second month of 1852

Number: 8

Location: Main gate of the Yoshiwara

Actor: Actor as Kaku no Kosan

Number: 9

Location: Sugamo

Actor: Actor as Tomoe Uchi

Number: 10

Location: Umi Shizuka Tera

Actor: Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Asakura in the kabuki play ‘Higashiyama sakura sôshi’

Number: 11

Location: Hori no Uchi

Actor: Ichikawa Danjurô VIII as Katsuyori in the kabuki play ‘Honchô nijûshikô’

Number: 12

Location: Ryôgoku

Actor: Bandô Hikasaburô IV as Ôboshi Yuranosuke in the kabuki play ‘Yayoi no hara iroha no honsetsu’

This is one of several series of prints Kuniyoshi designed consisting of bust portraits with irregularly shaped cartouches in the right upper corner. In each of these series, the cartouche is bordered by small pictures. The table below shows a typical cartouche from each of these series as well as the script within the cartouche that identifies the series. The color of the cartouches is not a reliable guide to identifying the series, as it may vary with successive printings.

		English title: Mirror of the Loyal Courage of the Faithful Retainers Japanese title: Chûshin giyû kagami Description: Bust of an actor as one of the Forty-seven Rônin with a landscape background
		English title: Famous Views of Edo Selected for the Twelve Months Japanese title: Edo meisho mitate jû-ni ka gwatsu no uchi Description: Bust of actor with landscape in upper half of print above a stylized cloud
		English title: Selection for the Twelve Signs Japanese title: Mitate jûnishi no uchi Description: Bust of an actor with a full-length figure of another actor in a landscape as a background
		English title: Set of Views of Fuji from Edo in Iroha Order Japanese title: Nanatsu iroha Tôto Fuji zukushi Description: Actor’s bust with landscape showing Mount Fuji inserter in the left upper corner
		English title: Celebrated Products of Mountains and Seas Japanese title: Sankai medetai zue Description: Bust of beautiful woman with insert of landscape showing provincial industry in left upper corner NOTE: Various scripts were used in this series, but the two kanji shown at left are most consistent
		English title: Thirty-six Fashionable Restaurants of the Eastern Capital Japanese title: Tôto ryûkô san-jû-rokkwaiseki Description: Bust of actor with restaurant in background
		English title: Military Brilliance for the Eight Views Japanese title: Yôbu hakkei Description: Bust of a military hero in a landscape

‘Robinson’ refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its unpublished supplement.

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