Various Specialties of Edo Districts

(Edo jiman meibutsu kurabe)

Publisher: Iba-ya Kyûbei

c. 1843-1846

This series consists of seven half-length portraits of beautiful women (bijin) engaged in daily activities that are related to specialties (meibutsu) of various Edo districts. The location is illustrated in the kiri-shaped inset. Three designs–Kameido, Imado and Komagome–are inspired by a famous diptych by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) depicting a kitchen scene. This series is not listed in Kuniyoshi by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961). The prints are each about 10 by 7 inches (25 by 18 centimeters), a size known as chûban.

	Specialty: Souvenir paper dolls from Ôji-Inari Shrine Beauty: A woman looking at paper foxes while leaning against a palanquin with her elbows Inset: Plum blossoms at Ôji-Inari Shrine Schaap: 8.1
	Specialty: Wisteria from Kameido-Tenmangu Shrine Beauty: Waitress at the tea shop at Kameido-Tenmangu Shrine is stirring the fire with a bamboo tube Inset: Kameido-Tenmangu Shrine Schaap: 8.2
	Specialty: Ceramics of Imado Beauty: Woman painting ceramic toy foxes and toy cats from Asakusa Imado with a baby on her back Inset: A kiln Schaap: 8.3
	This is another version of the above print. It is a less labor intensive printing than the above, which almost invariably means a later edition. In this print, the delicate shading (bokashi) in the background was omitted. Bokashi was achieved by hand-applying a gradation of ink to the wooden printing block rather than inking the block uniformly. This hand-application had to be repeated for each sheet of paper that was printed. Other simplifications include printing the fabric of the obi (belt) in a single color and using the same color for both the obi and the child’s kimono.
	Specialty: Pumpkins of Sunamura Beauty: Woman clutching a pumpkin and looking to her left Inset: Edo Bay looking out from Sunamura Niita Schaap: 8.4
	Specialty: Shellfish from Fukugawa Beauty: Woman opening shellfish while looking over her shoulder Inset: Benten Shrine at Fukugawa Schaap: 8.5
	This alternate state of the above print was kindly supplied by Richard Illing
	Specialty: Fireworks from Ryôgoku Beauty: Woman in an open boat on the Sumida River Inset: Ryôgokubashi (a bridge across the Sumida River) Schaap: 8.6
	Specialty: Eggplants from Komagome Beauty: Housewife peeling an eggplant Inset: Fuji-Gongen Shrine in Komagome Schaap: 8.7

‘Schaap’ refers to listing in ‘Heroes and Ghosts: Japanese Prints by Kuniyoshi’ by Robert Schaap (Hotei Publishing, Leiden, 1998).

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