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Original Number

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58

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ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR THIS DESIGN

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Currently Documented Edition Signature and Seal Markings:

Edition I:	楽山居	Raku-zan Kyo	+ Seal A
Edition II:	楽山篁子生	Raku-zan Kou-shi-sei	+ Seal B
Edition III:	楽山篁子生	Raku-zan Kou-shi-sei	+ Seal B	+ Rakusan (romaji cursive signature)*

* Currently, all documented edition III copies also have a Foster era Rakusan romaji cursive signature not present on copies from the other editions.

[For illustration of seals listed by seal code letter, see the Seals article. For edition characteristics applicable to this series as a whole, see the Edition article.]

Design History:
This woodblock print was produced from an original painting on silk dating from the late 1920s whose current location is unknown. The indentification of this design as number 58 is original to Rakusan who published the print as the 58th design in his series of one hundred woodblock prints called 楽山花鳥畫譜 Rakuzan Kachou Gafu, lit. 'Rakusan's Flower and Bird Print Series'.

58 is one of the more popular Rakusan designs, and it was reprinted in all three lifetime editions. Rakusan personally approved of the design and included it in a presentation album in August 1941 (see below).

Initial edition I publication of 58 was in September 1931 (or perhaps slightly later) in installment twenty-nine (of fifty). The first printing of about two hundred copies was supplemented by at least one additional edition I reprinting before the entire series closed out edition I in mid 1933. Two thirds of all documented copies of 58 are identifiable as edition I. The two different copies illustrated at top above and at left below are typical of edition I.

Although 58 was reprinted in both later editions, the relatively few copies from each of those editions suggest that each of these later editions had only a single print run significantly smaller than those produced for edition I. Edition II copies can only be dated approximately to between 1936 and 1941; and edition III copies approximately to between 1948 and 1955. Examples of copies from each of these later editions appear below for ready comparison.

In addition to the three different watermarks and other attribution markings the three editions can also be distinguished by ink colors and technique variations. The most immediately noticeable differences are in the treatments of the background and the separately printed lenticular area of the shadow of the bird. This shadowed area is further set off in all editions by the absence of scattered gold glitter which was intended to indicate sun reflection off of the shallow, muddy water. There is a printing error most evident in both edition I and edition II where a portion of lotus stem in the water directly below the tail of the bird has glitter when it should be in shadow. Note that although the gold glitter is present in all editions, it is very difficult to photograph without special lighting. A similar problem is encountered with imaging the areas of woodblock-printed, golden metallic ink on the lotus pads at top right and left center which in person are quite bright.

58 (edition I)

58 (edition II)

58 (edition III)

The warm, rich, tan-brown inks Rakusan used as the main background colors in 58 (and in many other designs) is extremely difficult to photograph accurately. Most photographic imagery ends up with this background color skewed toward duller and/or yellower hues which cannot be easily corrected without adversely affecting the other colors in the design. Unless otherwise remarked below, the colors used in this design are more similar than they appear in these examples.

Edition I: The entire background appears at first glance to be the same color. It is only very subtly and irregularly slightly darker at the bottom; sometimes more intensely darker at lower left (as in the two copies illustrated at top and another at above left). The shadow color is almost same hue as the rest of the brown background.

Edition II: The background has relatively even, darker bokashi over the entire lower half. The shadow is a different and distinctly darker brown hue than that of the background.

Edition III: The background (and many of the design elements) are more contrastive. The top is lighter and the bottom is darker than than in the backgrounds of either of the earlier editions. The shadow is noticeably olive or dull green rather than brown.

The title-caption for 58 is unusual in that it is one of only three in this series which mention a landform feature in addition to a botanical and a bird. Here, 池 ike is 'pond'.

Copies in Public Collections:
Edition II: Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, MA, USA; (1942.44.d); from a Rakusan presentation album, August 1941 [illustrated online].

Species Illustrated:
Lotus (Sacred Lotus), Nelumbo nucifera, is usually called 蓮, 藕, はす, ハス, hasu, 'lotus', which is also a general name for any kind of lotus. Botanically, the species is today often called instead 大賀蓮, おおがはす, オオガハス ooga-hasu, lit. 'god lotus'. Lotus is culturally very important for its religious connections as well as for food and ornamental usage. There are many names which can be applied to this species, and several other kinds of plants have names which incorporate names for 'lotus'. Here Rakusan used a specialized term, 荷葉, ka-you, 'lotus leaf' instead of the name of the plant. The descriptor 枯 kare usually means 'dead, dried', but in this context 'cold-withered' or 'winter-dormant' is a more accurate translation.

Long-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus scolopaceus, is today usually 大嘴鷸, 大嘴鴫, おおはししぎ, オオハシシギ, oo-hashi shigi, lit. 'large-billed sandpiper'. (鷸, 鴫, しぎ, シギ, shigi, is actually a very general name not just for sandpiper, but for any member of the sandpiper family, the Scolopacidae.) Rakusan instead wrote 大鴫, oo-shigi, lit. 'large sandpiper'. Since this is not recorded as a common name for the dowitcher, it appears that here Rakusan was supplying a general description rather than a species name.