Tōkyō jūnikagetsu no uchi Sangatsu by Otake Kunikazu, between 1850 and 1900

[tōkyō jūnikagetsu no uchi sangatsu by otake kunikazu. Uploader's note: see also here] original text: a young girl holding a doll remembers the revelry during a festival beneath blossoming cherry trees on the banks of a river. Notes: forms part of: japanese prints and drawings (library of congress). Exhibited: "sakura: cherry blossom as living symbol of friendship" in the graphic arts gallery, thomas jefferson building, library of congress, washington, d. C. , 2012. Exhibit caption: the small landscape depicted celebrates mukōjima situated on the east bank of the sumida river. This is still a famous destination for viewing the cherry blossom trees that were first planted there by shōgun tokugawa yoshimune (1684-1751). The fashionable young girl in the foreground is holding what is likely an emperor doll associated with the march 3rd hinamatsuri or girls day festival. [otake] kunikazu was a student of utagawa kunimasa and the oldest of three artist brothers. Prints of this type, called kuchi-e or "mouth pictures," were made as frontispiece illustrations for novels and literary journals. They were especially popular during the meiji era (1868-1912) phenomenon. Date: between 1850 and 1900.