1839-1892
Tokyo Restaurants and Their Very Beautiful Dishes: The Takisoba Restaurant at Otowa
(Tokyo ryori sukoburu beppin: Takisoba, Otowa)
signed oju Yoshitoshi hitsu, kyogo (with the assistance of) Toshimaro, with censor and date seal Hitsuji-kyu, aratame (year of the goat [1871], 9th lunar month)
oban tate-e 14 by 9 5/8 in., 35.6 by 24.4 cm
The beauties are Kan of the Takasagoya (standing), and Kanekichi of Taki-?.
The series Tokyo Restaurants and their Very Beautiful Dishes (Tokyo ryori sukoburu beppin) depicts geisha and waitresses at popular restaurants in Tokyo. This was one of Yoshitoshi's few series dedicated to bijin, who are the 'Very Beautiful Dishes' of the title. Given Yoshitoshi's propensity for dynamic supernatural or violent subjects, it is perhaps not surprising that the stylistic departure of the elegant women and interiors toying with Western point perspective featured in this series were produced with the participation of several of his students.
Published:
Highlights of Japanese Printmaking: Part Five - Yoshitoshi, Scholten Japanese Art, New York, 2017, cat. no. 40
References:
Roger Keyes, Courage and Silence, 1983, p. 394, no. 274.13
Philadelphia Museum of Art, accession no. 1978-129-211
price: Sold