Yoshitoshi's 'Twenty-Four Hours at Shinbashi and Yanagibashi ( Shinryu nijushi toki )' (1880)

Introduction

During Yoshitoshi's life, the Yoshiwara districts of Shinbashi and Yanagibashi were busy and quite lively. Yoshitoshi's uncle lived in Shinbashi, and Yoshitoshi spent years in the neighborhood. The Yanagibashi district, along the Sumida river, had long been the dominant geisha area but Shinbashi was growing in prominence at the time this series was published. This series presents a chronologic glimpse into 24 hours in the life of the area. The text was written by Takabatake Ransen, a journalist who also wrote many of the news stories in nishikii by Yoshiiku and other artists. Takabatake Ransen wrote in the playful gesaku tradition, which relies on special "in-group" knowledge to be fully translated and understood. The Hotei reference (listed below) translates and presents this beautiful text.

Technical details

• Dates: 1880-1881 published
• Size: Ōban
• Signed: oju Yoshitoshi ga
• Seal: Taiso , Yoshi (varies)
• Publishers: Morimoto Junzaburō, Nakamura Mitsu
• Engravers: Hori Yata (Watanabe Yatarō), Horikō
• Text: Tentendō Shujin (Takabatake Ransen)

Previous cataloguings

	Roger. S. Keyes, "Courage and Silence: A Study of the Life and
		Color Woodblock Prints of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1839-1892",
		Cinncinnati, 1982

	Eric van den Ing, Robert Schaap, "Beauty and Violence: Japanese
		Prints by Yoshitoshi 1839-1892",
		Havilland, Eindhoven, 1992

where it appears as series #39 (pg. 60, 125);

	Famous Japanese prints series, "A courtesan's day: hour by hour",
		Hotei Publishing, Amsterdam, 2004.

an excellentl reference where the series is illustrated and translated in its entirety.

We use the Keyes numbers to order the prints below.

The Prints

Thumbnail	Number	Date	Title	Description
	#01	10/1880	1 a.m. - Geisha and attendant by street stall.
	#02	10/1880	2 a.m. - Geisha drinking wine from kettle.
	#03	10/1880	3 a.m. - Geisha in bed holding pipe and tobacco pouch.
	#04	10/1880	4 a.m. - Geisha with bowl and chopsticks at street stall.
	#05	10/1880	5 a.m. - Geisha kneeling by candle.
	#06	10/1880	6 a.m. - Geisha adjusting cowl.
	#07	10/1880	7 a.m. - Geisha praying by inscribed lanterns.
	#08	10/1880	8 a.m. - Geisha brushing teeth.
	#09	10/1880	9 a.m. - Geisha examining hair with two mirrors.
	#10	10/1880	10 a.m. - Geisha washing clothes.
	#11	10/1880	11 a.m. - Geisha powdering neck at mirror.
	#12	10/1880	12 noon. - Geisha posing for photograph.
	#13	10/1880	1 p.m. - Geisha with mirror blackening teeth.
	#14	10/1880	2 p.m - Geisha tying under-sash.
	#15	10/1880	3 p.m - Geisha waving beneath cherry tree.
	#16	10/1880	4 p.m - Geisha holding cord in lips.
	#17	10/1880	5 p.m - Geisha with hand mirror adjusting hair.
	#18	10/1880	6 p.m - Geisha with parcel of hand towels.
	#19	10/1880	7 p.m - Geisha cutting branch of plum tree
	#20	10/1880	8 p.m - Geisha looking at hairpiece on floor.
	#21	10/1880	9 p.m - Geisha watching sparks struck from flint.
	#22	10/1880	10 p.m - Geisha with samisen.
	#23	10/1880	11 p.m - Geisha asleep by lantern.
	#24	10/1880	12 midnight - Geisha walking with attendant in snow.

 

Acknowledgements