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Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Kubo Shunman (1757-1820), The Ide Jewel River, circa 1786-88 (late Tenmei era)

Kubo Shunman (1757-1820)

The Ide Jewel River, circa 1786-88 (late Tenmei era)
Woodblock print, from a six-sheet set 'The Six Jewel Rivers' (Mu Tamagawa)
Vertical oban:
37.4 x 25.3 cm. (14 ¾ x 10 in.)
Artist's seal: 'Shunman'
Publisher: Fushimaya Zenroku (first edition)
Date: circa 1786-88
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Two elegantly-dressed young women and a handsome youth wade across the Ide Jewel River in Yamashiro Province, present-day Kyoto, surrounded by hills and flowering yamabuki. A servant gathers their shoes...
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Two elegantly-dressed young women and a handsome youth wade across the Ide Jewel River in Yamashiro Province, present-day Kyoto, surrounded by hills and flowering yamabuki. A servant gathers their shoes together behind them, threading them onto a cord to keep them together.

The six jewel rivers (Mu-tamagawa) were a subject of poetry from the Heian period, but it was later, during the second-half of the 18th century, that they became a popular subject for ukiyo-e artists. The complete set by Shunman comprises six prints and a first edition was published by Fushimiya Zenroku in about 1786-88 using the red-avoiding (benigirai) colour palette. The artist cleverly linked the concept of the six separate rivers by depicting them as a single stream meandering across each print. He then added groups of elegant men and women set amongst the traditional iconographies associated with each place to convey the location of each stream depicted. The set works as a multi-sheet design, yet each print also works well as an individual design. The complete set as a first edition is rare. A later edition was published in 1790s by Tsutaya Juzaburo using full colour.

The Tokyo National Museum holds an impression of the first edition of The Ide Jewel River published by Fushimiya Zenroku, go to: https://webarchives.tnm.jp/imgsearch/show/C0020888

The British Museum holds an impression of the later edition published by Tsutaya, museum number 1952,0712,0.1, go to: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1952-0712-0-1

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston holds one of the few known sets of the first edition, accession nos. 11.14946-7 (sheets 1-3) and 21.6187, 21.7358, 63.1074 (sheets 4-6), go to:
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/489445/the-six-jewel-rivers-mu-tamagawa?ctx=1ea8d4dd-b274-4a62-b14f-8a841a01a06c&idx=0
and:
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/493079/the-six-jewel-rivers-mu-tamagawa?ctx=baf2d767-1a07-4419-a94d-9766872ede93&idx=8
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Japanese woodblock prints and works
of art from antiquity to contemporary.

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4 Cromwell Place, London, SW7 2JE

By appointment, Monday - Friday 10.00am - 5.00pm

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anastasia@avsjapaneseart.com

+44 (0) 7966 255250

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