Exhibitors
298.
Hiroshige's Family tablet, 10½ ins. by 3 ins.
inscribed with his posthumous Buddhist name styled Genkō-in Tokuō
Ryūsai Koji
()
in the middle and from the right to the left side, the date of his
death,
September 6 in the 5th year of Ansei (1858). The tablet is black
lacquer.
Mr. K. Kikuchi
299.
Register of the dead members of the House of Andō
(Hiroshige's family name).
Do.
300.
Hiroshige's seals, numbering 17, 15 of which are
of stone and the rest of wood. Most of them seem to have belonged
to Hiroshige II. and Hiroshige III.
These three sets of articles were originally kept by Mr. Seifū
Shimizu for Hiroshige III. When Mr. Kiichiro Kikuchi, a friend of
Mr. Shimizu's who is closely related to the House of Andō succeeded
Hiroshige III as Hiroshige IV in December 1911, he took them over
from Mr. Shimizu. (The compiler is indebted to Mr. Kikuchi for kindly
allowing him to insert the
printed
impressions of these seals specially in the English catalogue).
Mr. Kikuchi was born in 1848. He teaches caligraphy at his own home
at Hon-Shirokanechō, Nihonbashi, not being a specialist in painting.
He succeeded to the title of Hiroshige in order to keep the family
from becoming extinct. Thus he inherited the family tablet for the
House of Andō before which he daily offers prayers.
Do.
301.
Hiroshige's death-song rapidly written by himself
on a piece of letter paper, 7½ ins. by 8½ ins. See
plate
No. 2.
Autograph writing of Hiroshige's death-song:
Azumaji ni fude wo nokoshite tabi no sora ; Nishi no Mikuni no Nadokoro wo min.
Translation:
Dropping my brush at Azuma (Eastern capital) I go a journey
to the honorable country in the west (Buddhist Paradise is supposed
to be in the West) to view the wonderful sights there.
This poem is inscribed on Hiroshige's portrait by Toyokuni III.
Mr. M. Uchida
302.
Hiroshige's door-plate, made of wood and inscribed as
(Ichiryūsai-Hiroshige). 12 ins. by 4½ ins.
Mr. M. Uchida
303.
Short Sword worn by Hiroshige. Measuring by 9½ ins., the
blade is made of whale bone. On one side there is an inscription
reading (Safe all through life) by Okajima-Rinsai and on the other
a seventeen syllabled verse by Hiroshige himself, in letters of
gold lacquer which have partly worn out and are therefore illegible.
Do.
304.
Wooden Image of Toyohiro, Coloured image 12½ ins. in height
representing Toyohiro in sitting posture wearing haori and hakama. This is known to have belonged to Hiroshige who was his pupil.
Mrs. Y. Yamamoto
305.
Book of a few pages showing Hiroshige's signatures represented
by the seals referred to at
No. 300.
Mr. T. Hirose
Kakemono, composed of various pictures
and writings including invitations to meetings for painting. Among
them is a sheet of
hōshō paper of quarto
size, 10½ ins. by 7½ ins., on which there are written
in order
(Utagawa-Toyoharu), the founder of the Utagawa School and
(Toyohiro) and a little downwards,
(Pupil Hiroshige) dated
(September in the 9th year of Bunka (1812). This is a certificate
given to Hiroshige by Toyohiro granting him the use of his artistic name: a sort of matriculation card.
Do.
Yomiji no tabi nori no Michizure
().
1 sheet.
This is a copy of papers sold by hawkers giving comments on various
noted people who died from the cholera epidemic that raged throughout
the city of Yedo in 1853. Referring to the death of Hiroshige, the
comment is:
Hiroshige's death cannot be too much deplored.
Mr. S. Sakai