1780
by TORII, Kiyonaga 鳥居 清長, artist & possible author
1780. Woodcut illus. throughout, some double-page & some single-page. 5; 5; 5 leaves. Three vols. Small 8vo, orig. yellow-brown wrappers, orig. tinted & block-printed pictorial title slips on upper covers. Edo: Iseya Jisuke 伊勢屋治助, [1780].
First edition of this rare kibyōshi 黄表紙 (“yellow-covered book”); there is no copy in WorldCat. This is a rare survival and excellent example of a kibyōshi, small format and inexpensive books with yellow covers, mostly illustrated and containing popular stories for adults. These books tended to be published in early January. Kibyōshi were amongst the most widely read types of publication during the years 1770-1805, and more than 2000 titles were published.
Torii Kiyonaga (1753-1815) “came to Edo…[and] he subsequently became the pupil of Torii Kiyomitsu, and when the latter died in 1785, he himself headed the Torii school…Although best known as a fine print artist who exerted a profound influence on later artists including Shigemasa and Utamaro, Kiyonaga also illustrated books, principally kibyōshi. He is believed to have written as well as illustrated 30 kibyōshi novels…In addition, some 90 kibyōshi by other authors were also illustrated by him, making him the most influential Torii illustrator, with the exception of Kiyotsune. He was certainly the most influential artist of kibyōshi books in the latter part of the eighteenth century and his style was consciously imitated by many other artists.”–David Chibbett, The History of Japanese Printing and Book Illustration (1977), p. 169.
The pictorial cover labels are large and deliberately eye-catching, revealing aspects of the stories within.
Fine copy, preserved in a chitsu. Minor worming. (Inventory #: 10818)
First edition of this rare kibyōshi 黄表紙 (“yellow-covered book”); there is no copy in WorldCat. This is a rare survival and excellent example of a kibyōshi, small format and inexpensive books with yellow covers, mostly illustrated and containing popular stories for adults. These books tended to be published in early January. Kibyōshi were amongst the most widely read types of publication during the years 1770-1805, and more than 2000 titles were published.
Torii Kiyonaga (1753-1815) “came to Edo…[and] he subsequently became the pupil of Torii Kiyomitsu, and when the latter died in 1785, he himself headed the Torii school…Although best known as a fine print artist who exerted a profound influence on later artists including Shigemasa and Utamaro, Kiyonaga also illustrated books, principally kibyōshi. He is believed to have written as well as illustrated 30 kibyōshi novels…In addition, some 90 kibyōshi by other authors were also illustrated by him, making him the most influential Torii illustrator, with the exception of Kiyotsune. He was certainly the most influential artist of kibyōshi books in the latter part of the eighteenth century and his style was consciously imitated by many other artists.”–David Chibbett, The History of Japanese Printing and Book Illustration (1977), p. 169.
The pictorial cover labels are large and deliberately eye-catching, revealing aspects of the stories within.
Fine copy, preserved in a chitsu. Minor worming. (Inventory #: 10818)
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