Japanese woodcut, ink, paper, 24x15 cm (paper size), artist's signature
The woodcut is from the magazine "Isho Sekai (World of Design)," No. 1. Published in Tokyo in 1901 (Meiji 34), an analogous piece is in the collection of the Harvard Library.
The featured woodcut is a kuchi-e, literally "mouth painting." The term refers to a particular type of Japanese woodblock print that served as the frontispiece of art magazines, literary journals and novels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These prints were created by renowned artists who collaborated with publishers to create visually and thematically striking illustrations that complemented the accompanying literary works. Kuchi-e played a significant role in popularizing art and showcased the talents of prominent artists of the time.
The history of Kurehatori and Ayahatori dates back to ancient times - these two "princesses" came to Japan from the Kure region of China. The famous weavers taught their skills to local women and are commemorated in two temples in Ikeda Osaka. The caption on this woodcut illustration reads "Rosai," which was an alternate name used by Ogata Gekko(1859-1920). Ogata Gekkō was a Japanese artist considered one of the greatest ukiyo-e woodcut artists of the late 19th century. He was the son of a samurai family. He studied under Kawanabe Kyosai and Taiso Yoshitoshi, two prominent ukiyo-e artists, during the Meiji period. Gekkō was self-taught in art and began by decorating porcelain and rickshaws and designing pamphlets for pleasure districts. Around 1881, he took the Ogata name at the urging of a descendant of the painter Ogata Kōrin. Hesoon took to designing prints and illustrating books and newspapers, but his talents soon attracted the attention of publishers and collectors, and he began creating woodblock prints. Gekko's works reflected the changing times in Japan during the Meiji period, when the country opened to the West and modernized rapidly. His prints often included contemporary subjects such as train stations, factories and steamships, as well as historical scenes and traditional Japanese motifs.
"Seibikai" was founded in Tokyo in 1900 by Shobei Kitajima, who coordinated the production of all issues of "Isho Sekai." The epilogue of "Isho Sekai" magazine explains that the periodical is published monthly on the fifth day of the month, providing designers with the latest developments in kimono design, fabric dyeing and pattern weaving. Many post-1900 designs filtered the then-Western aesthetic of Art Nouveau and adopted it into traditional Japanese forms.