The Prosperity of a Wealthy Man’s Fruitful Year
Kitagawa Utamaro, The Prosperity of a Wealthy Man’s Fruitful Year, ca. 1804, color woodblock print with embossing on paper; ōban nishiki-e, The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection, public domain, 32.287
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- Title
The Prosperity of a Wealthy Man’s Fruitful Year
- Related Titles
catalog entry: Manpuku chôja hônen no sakae (The Prosperity of a Wealthy Man’s Fruitful Year)
original language: 万福長者豊栄
transliterated: Manpuku chôja hônen no sakae
- Artist
- Date
ca. 1804
- Period
Japan: Edo period (1615-1868)
- Medium
color woodblock print with embossing on paper; ōban nishiki-e
- Edition
no other known impressions
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
image: 14 11/16 in x 9 13/16 in; sheet: 15 1/16 in x 9 15/16 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
inscription: 三弦 叶福大夫 鶴沢亀吉 大黒天 弁財天 xxx, printed in black, upper left Transliteration (Translation): Sangen / _fuku Dayû / Tsurusawa Kamekichi / Daikokuten / Benzaiten (Shamisen [three stringed instrument, seen in the image]; _fuku [Fukurokujû, god of good fortune]; Tsurusawa Kamekichi; Daikokuten; Benzaiten) Language: Japanese Description: This appears to be a guide to the figures in the painting. Sangen (three strings) is another term for the 'shamisen,' the banjo-like instrument that was popular on the kabuki stage and in the brothels of the Edo period. Fukurokuju (the figure with the huge head, on the dais as the chanter) and Daikokuten (the fellow with the hairy legs in the foreground, holding an umbrella, recognizable by the rice barrels in his costume) and Benzaiten (goddess of music; perhaps meant to be the geisha playing the shamisen here) are 3 of the 7 gods of good fortune. The last name in the list has yet to be deciphered. The identities of the man crouching with clappers, and the beauty standing at left, remain unclear. - M. Graybill, 11/17/2015
censor's mark: 極, printed in black ink, lower left Transliteration: kiwame Language: Japanese
signature: 正銘 哥麿筆, printed in black ink, center right Transliteration (Translation): Shômei Utamaro hitsu (True signature of Utamaro) Language: Japanese
title: 万福長者豊栄, printed in black ink, upper left Transliteration (Translation): Manpuku chôja hônen no sakae (The Prosperity of a Wealthy Man’s Fruitful Year) Language: Japanese Description: Title in Chinese characters with Japanese phonetical pronunciation provided
- Collection Area
Asian Art; Graphic Arts
- Category
Prints
Japanese Traditional Prints
- Object Type
relief print
- Culture
Japanese
- Credit Line
The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection
- Accession Number
32.287
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
