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Ukiyo-e Galleries

The Collection of Alec Wood

No. 1: Shishiko from the series Kaiko yashinai gusa
「蚕養草 一 獅子蚕」
Utagawa Kunitoshi 歌川国利 (1847-1899), signing as Kisai Shōfū 驥斎樵夫
Publisher: Satō Shintarō 佐藤新太郎
1880

Signature
驥齋樵夫筆
Kisai Shōfū? hitsu
Inset Text
「絹笠明神」
Kinugasa myōjin
Colophon
馬喰町三丁目 壱番地 画工兼 出板人 佐藤新太郎 ・ 御届 明治十三年二月廿三日
Bakurochō Sanchōme 1-banchi / Gakōken shuppanjin Satō Shintarō / Ontodoke Meiji jūsannen nigatsu nijū sannichi
Commentary
The title of the print, "Shishiko" refers to the first of four dormant periods or "sleeps" in the life-cycle of the silkworm. (source: Vanessa Tothill, "Yosan-e and The Aesthetics of Post-Tenpo Reforms Era Sericulture Prints", Art Research v. 18)
Dimensions
Vertical ōban; 24.5 × 36.7 cm (9.6 × 14.5 in)
Related Items
MAK KI 14404-3 [A Yoshiiku print illustrating the same stage in silkworm cultivation, featuring a quite similar composition]
Prints from a Fusatane series featuring identical title-slip and patron deity motifs
WUL 文庫30 B0271 [Another related design by Fusatane]