Eastern Brocades, Day and Night Compared - Designed in 1886, Chikanobu's extraordinary "Eastern Brocade" series features a fantastic range of subjects, including brave warriors, eerie ghosts, timeless beauties, and famous figures from traditional tales of triumph and treachery. These beautiful images bring the history and legends of Japan to life with colorful characters and a wonderful attention to detail. Note the appealing compositions and fine printing in these Meiji era masterworks, many of which include deluxe treatments such as burnishing, embossing, or the addition of mica. These attractive designs are a nice choice to collect or display.

Kaniman-ji, No. 28 - An incredible story of a young beauty who valued all living things and bought live crabs at the market to set them free. One day her father came across a snake with a frog in its mouth, and agreed to offer his daughter in marriage to the snake in exchange for the frog. Upon the arrival of her suitor, she refused to marry him and the young man began to change back into a snake, intending to devour her. After praying to Kannon for assistance, however, the crabs returned to save her from the fearsome snake. Chikanobu's fantastic illustration of this ancient tale is one of the great masterwork prints from this series.

Collection Note from Bill: I was excited to purchase this beautiful print in Japan recently as part of a fine, pristine Chikanobu collection sourced from a Japanese collector in the countryside. The prints are all beautifully printed, retain 100% of their original color, are not backed, and were stored in perfect condition. They’re a nice opportunity to collect flawless prints from this rarely seen Chikanobu series.

Artist - Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

Image Size - 8 3/4" x 13" + margins as shown

Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Nice large margins. Small stain at bottom. Please see photos for details. Good overall.