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GAKUTEI, Yashima  (1786? - 1868)		From: The Dance at Furuichi for the Hisakataya Group - no. 3: Two Dancers on Stage -
		Signed:                      Gakutei Sadaoka hitsu Published for the:    Hisakataya group (a poets' circle) Published:                 c. 1822 Size:                           shikishiban surimono (c. 20 x 18 cms / c. 7 7/8" x 7" Fine impression with blind-printed areas, areas with gold and silver color pigments, minor fading to colors, thin backing, in very good general condion. ref. no.: # 763326 Price: € 1,950.00

This surimono is no. 3 of a group of five prints commissioned by the Hisakataya Poets' Circle. - Pilgrimages to the Great Shrines at Ise became extraordinarily popular during the 1820s, with the result that travellers often slept at inns and brothels in the town of Furuichi, which was located between the shrines of Yamada and Uji. The surimono depicts two geishas of Gisharô, a large establishment in Furuichi, dancing on an open wooden causeway. Gisharô means 'Ox-drawn Carriage'; the emblem of the house, which appears on the lanterns and stage in Gakutei's print, was a carriage wheel. - There are two poems printed in silver color over the black stage background, which relate to the location and the surrounding mountains, as well as to the dancing performance. Reference: Roger Keyes, "The Art of Surimono - Privately published Japanese woodblock prints and books in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin"; vol. I, no. 50, p. 91.

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