Woodblock Print of Englishman and Chinese man in Yokohama by Utagawa (Gountei) Sadahide
[Japan] Wonderful, woodblock print showing a very early scene after the opening of Japan's ports in 1859. The English merchant is looking out a window of his home or shop and presumably the Chinese man is offering to sell him some ducks. We can see many glasses on the table behind the English man so perhaps a party was to be held later that day. The censor seal indicates this print was published in the first month of the Bunkyu era which would be February 1861. Very few Westerners were living in Yokohama in early 1861 so it would be tempting to guess who the English man might be, but we will leave that to others to speculate. The print is titled, 'Yokohama Shoka Ijin no Zu', with the men labelled, 'Igirisu-jin' [English person] and 'Nankin-jin' [Chinese person]. Published by Tsujiokaya Bunsuke.
Single, oban-sized print. 35.6 x 24.6cm.
In very good condition. Very minor wear to edges and a few almost unnoticeable, very small repairs to rear. Unbacked with nice bleedthrough. u34111286
