Fan Prints of Humorous and Miscellaneous Subjects,
Part I
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Title: Modern Cats in Six
Poetic Guises (Tôryû Neko no Roku Kesen,
當流猫の六毛撰) Description: Cats
imitating the Six Immortal Poets with puns on the poets’ names, clockwise
from bottom left: Poet: Ariwara
no Narihira (在原業平) Cat: Whitey is playful with the straw (Mugiwara
no jare shiro, むぎわらのじゃれ白) Poet: Ono no Komachi (小野小町) Cat: That gal with kids (Ama no Komochi,
あまの子もち) Poet: Sôjô Henjô (僧正遍正) Cat: Playing with butterflies (Chôchô
Tengo, ちょうちょうてんご) Poet: Bun’ya no Yasuhide
(文屋康秀) Cat: I’ll rest tonight. OK? (Kon’ya
wa yasumu ne, 今夜はやすむね) Poet: Kisen Hôshi (喜撰法師) Cat: Forehead spot (Miken bôchi,
みけん ぼっち) Poet: Ôtomo no Kuronushi (大友黒主) Cat: The big libertine with black patch (Ôdora
no Kurobushi, 大どらの黒ぶち) Date: 1843-1846
(censor Muramatsu Genroku) Publisher: Iba-ya Sensaburô I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this image and information. |
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Title: Cats Enjoying
the Evening Cool (猫のすずみ) Description: Cats dressed
as women in a small boat and on a quay Date: 1839-1842 Publisher: No seal |
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Another state of the above design, with the kimono of the cat on the right having been simplified |
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This is a 21st century reproduction
made from newly cut woodblocks by Yuuya Shimoi (Shimoi’s Ukiyoe Reproduction) |
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Title: Cats
Practicing Their Music (猫乃けいこ) Date: 1841 Publisher: No seal |
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I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this
preliminary sketch for the preceding print. |
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An earlier sketch for “Cats Practicing Their
Music”, also courtesy of Robert Pryor |
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Title: Description: Cats
imitating chapter ten of the novel, The
Tales of Genji Date: c. 1842 Publisher: No seal |
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I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this preliminary
sketch for the above design. |
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Title: Eight Cats Show their Colors (Neko-mi hakkei,
猫身八毛意) Description: Cats engaged
in various activities (猫身八毛意) Date: c. 1840 Publisher: Kyu (phonetic
pronunciation of 久) NOTE: I am grateful to Robert Pryor for identifying
this print as a mitate of the Eight Views of Ômi. Ômi hakkei (Eight Views of Ômi,
近江八景) becomes Neko-mi
hakkei (Eight Cats Show their Colors, 猫身八毛意).
1. かたたのらくがん Katata no Rakugan (またたび らくがん, Matatabi Rakugan, Catnip
Candy). Matatabi
(木天蓼) is a Japanese
plant that cats love even more than catnip, and rakugan
(落雁) is a popular
rice-flour and sugar sweet commonly pressed into the form of flowers and
often served at the tea ceremony. The
cat on the right is holding a confectioner’s bag. 2. あわづのせいらん Awazu seiran, なまずにじょうだん Namazu ni jôdan, Playing with
a catfish 3. せたのせきしょう Seta no sekishô, へたなちくしょう Heta na chikushô, So damned inexperienced! (Letting the mouse
escape) 4. やばせのきはん Yabase no kihan, 赤毛のじまん Akage no jiman, “Ginger” shows off (his color) 5. みいのばんしょう Mii no banshô, 三毛のばんじょう Mike no banjô, Calicos on the board (Tortoiseshell cats playing shogi) 6. For Ishiyama no shûgetsu (武蔵野秋月). Although for the Views秋月is usually read
as shûgetsu it can, and probably more often
is, read as akizuki, so the full pun is
based on: いしやまのあきのつきIshiyama no akizuki, ぶちなまのあじのすき Buchi nama no
aji no suki, “Spots” loves raw horse mackerel |
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Preparatory drawing for the above print titled 見立て猫見八貝 |
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Title: A collection
of cats (Nekotsuruken) Description: Cats are
displayed in various attitudes with the following labels: 1. Fight during cat courtship (neko no kenka wa irogurui) 2. A grey cat, a tabby cat and a spotted bobtail cat slinking off
(haige shirobuchi mike
choko choko) 3. Purring and begging (nodo gorogoro narashite nedarimasho) 4. Meow, meow, meow—the soft touch of flirtation (sore nyan nyago nyan nyago
jaretsukuna) 5. Black cat wearing a necklace (karasu ga kubittama shibarareta) 6. Tabby cat wandering around (dora wa hôbô kakezuruten) 7. Mouse, meow, and come here!
(nezumi de nyaa kinasee) Date: 1847 Publisher: Iba-ya Sensaburô |
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Title: Cat Dance (Neko no odori, 猫のおどり) Description: Cats
performing the daikokumai dance. The fans are decorated with a rebus for an
onomatopoeic rendering of the dance.
The title cartouche is composed of abalone and dried tuna. Date: c. 1841 Publisher: No seal |
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Description: Dance of the spectral
animals, a parody on the seven gods of good fortune (the cat is Benten, and
the bullfrog is Hotei) Date: c. 1840 Publisher: No seal |
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Title: Cat Ken
(Neko no ken, 猫のけん) Description: Cats playing
the game of ken Date: 1841 Publisher: No seal |
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Title: None Description: The cat
family at home Date: c. 1840 Publisher: No seal |
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Title: Caged Birds at in the Evening (Kago no tori Suzume iro doki, かごのとりすゞめいろどき) Description: View of the
Yoshiwara with birds as courtesans in the “cages” Date: 1842-1846
(censor Murata Sahei) Publisher: Iba-ya Kyubei I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this image. |
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Title: Pale Moon,
Cats in Season (Oborozuki neko no sakari, おぼろ月猫の盛) Description: View of the
Yoshiwara with cats as courtesans behind in “the cage” Date: 1846 Publisher: Iba-ya Sensaburô |
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Series: A Hundred
Cats’ Physiognomies (Neko no hyaku men-sô, 猫の百面相) Robinson: 201 Description: Faces of cats
dressed as actors from the
seventh act of Chûshingura with the
following roles and actors:
Date: 1842 Publisher: No seal I am grateful to Robert Pryor for the image. |
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Series: A Hundred
Cats’ Physiognomies (Neko no hyaku men-sô, 猫の百面相) Robinson: 201 Description: Faces of cats
dressed as actors reflected in mirrors with following
actors:
Date: 1842 Publisher: No seal |
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Series: A Hundred
Cats’ Physiognomies (Neko no hyaku men-sô, 猫の百面相) Robinson: 201 Description: Faces of cats
dressed as actors reflected in mirrors with following
actors:
Date: 1842 Publisher: No seal |
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Series: A Hundred
Cats’ Physiognomies (Neko no hyaku men-sô, 猫の百面相) Robinson: 201 Description: Date: 1842 Publisher: No seal |
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Title: Act 3 (San danme, 三段目) Description: Cats
performing act three of the Chûshingura in which Honzo
bribes Moronao with various fishy treats. The mon are also constructed from shellfish. Date: c. 1839-1842 Publisher: No seal I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this image and
information. |
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Title: Fishing with Octopus (Tako sakana, たこさかな) Description: Cats
performing the teahouse scene from act seven of the Chûshingura. Kudayû is testing
Yuranosuke by getting him to eat octopus on the
anniversary of Enya’s death, which would be breaking a taboo. Many of the clothing mon
and decorations are seafood. Date: c. 1839-1842 Publisher: No seal |
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“Robinson” refers to series number
in Kuniyoshi by Basil William
Robinson, 1961,
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