Page:A history of Japanese colour-prints by Woldemar von Seidlitz.djvu/255

Rh Of his illustrated works in polychrome, the following may be mentioned:—

Theatre fans. Yedo, 1769.

Kobi no Tsubo, a collection of actor likenesses, 1770, still somewhat conventional, but very effective in colour.

Nishiki hiakunin isshiu azumi ori, the hundred celebrated poets (Yedo, 1774), one of his principal works.

Sairo bijin awase sugata kagami, mirror of the beauties of the Green

Houses, in collaboration with Shigemasa, 3 vols. Yedo, 1776. Sanjirokkasen, the six-and-thirty poets. Yedo, 1775.

Other works in Duret.

The Green Houses is probably the most beautiful illustrated work that Japanese art ever produced. The beauties who dwell in the green-painted houses of pleasure are here generally represented in fours on a double sheet, engaged in the various occupations of their daily life, playing, smoking, at music, painting, poetry, in the garden. Also some sheets with very beautiful conventionalised plants. A characteristic of this work is a special light rose colour which predominates with violet, grey-brown, and yellow, and gives a very delicate effect.

Another celebrated work, in which he likewise collaborated with Shigemasa, is the illustrations of Sericulture, in twelve sheets, each usually representing three people at work, with explanatory verses above.

With Buncho he edited, in 1770, a series of actor likenesses in quarter length, each represented on a fan: Yehon butai ogi; the earliest book of polychrome prints, after those of Harunobu.

Lastly, with his contemporary Toyoharu, he edited a folio representing the twelve months, the sheets divided diagonally, with landscapes on the upper part and groups mostly of three figures on the lower; the slender figures are very graceful in movement, the shading very soft; evidently a work of his early days.

A very numerous flock of pupils was educated by him, and it is difficult to differentiate them, as they followed his style with H