Hokusai Gojūsantsugi Dōchu Gafu Classic woodblock printed book
[Japan] Impressive work that although has Hokusai in the title, was actually illustrated by his first and best student, Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850). The first illustration shows a bookshop, then Nihonbashi, Shinagawa and other stops on the Tōkaidō until Kyōto. First printed by the Nagoya publisher Eirakuya Tōshirō from the blocks originally cut for a privately published poetry anthology illustrated by Totoya Hokkei titled, 'Kyōka tōkan ekiro no suzu' (1830), Eirakuya acquired the blocks in the early 1830s, excised all the poems and the hashira title from them, added two introductory illustrations in the style of Hokusai and a preface purportedly written by Takai Ranzan, and retitled the book Dōchū gafu, which was then sold as a book illustrated by Hokusai in 1834/5. The publisher of our volume, Kōgetsudō Bunsuke, was the third to acquire the blocks but only had them for a short time, hence very few copies have been found of this particular edition. (See Late Hokusai edited by Timothy Clark, specifically Chapter 5: The Publisher Tōhekidō (Eirakuya Tōshirō) and the Hokusai ‘Brand' (pp.71-88) and Appendix 1: A chronological List of Late Hokusai Books with Short Bibliographic Notes (pp.258-271), both by Ellis Tinios).
Nagoya. Kōgetsudō Bunsuke. Tempō 6 (1835).
36 leaves. 23 x 16.3cm.
In very good condition. Wear and creasing to covers. Some thumbing and wear to first few leaves. Some neat notes written in margins of a few pages. Otherwise very good. In custom made, folding case. b36051611
