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Assigned Number / 規定番号

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104-5

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Theme Identification / 画題識別

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104 Lily Theme / 104 ユリ画題

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ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR THIS DESIGN

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Signature and Seal Markings:

Edition I (only edition):

篁子生

Kou-shi-sei

+ Seal A

The signature 篁子生, Kou-shi-sei forms the basis of the titles for both series in the 篁子生画選, Koushisei Gasen, Project. However on woodblock prints it is an uncommon signature variation used with only a few designs. Rakusan soon elaborated this signature to 楽山篁子生, Raku-zan Kou-shi-sei, which is found on most later woodblock prints.

[For illustration of seals listed by seal code letter, see the Seals article.]

Series History and Definitions:
During the two years between mid 1933 and mid 1935 Rakusan produced a series of 180 individual woodblock-printed fan designs. These fan designs are printed as negative images with a single impression of black ink. Although all are actually woodblock prints, this traditional negative-image printing style is called 石摺(り), ishi-zuri, lit. 'stone rubbing', from its superficial resemblance to that technique. Rakusan called this series 篁子生石摺画選, Koushisei Ishizuri Gasen, lit. 'Koushisei's Stone-rubbing Print Selection', but it is usually called here the Fan Series.

Rakusan arranged the Fan Series prints into shared-subject groups typically consisting of one design in each of five different fan silhouette shapes. Each of these groups of Fan Series designs are united by a corresponding polychrome 36 Series design which defines the subject. Each shared-subject Fan Series group and its 36 Series design together comprise a theme (画題, gadai).

Rakusan did not include the Fan Series in his main sequence numbering. Therefore, the original number used for each of the 36 Series prints has been modified to identify the Fan Series members of its theme. The five different fan silhouette shapes have been here assigned arbitrary numbers 1 through 5. To indicate a fan design these shape designations are added to the 36 Series number separated by a hyphen. In themes which contain duplicated fan shapes, one has been arbitrarily designated A and the other B. 104-5 indicates that this is a Fan Series design with fan shape 5 in the 104 Lily theme. Like all other designs in this series, 104-5 was only produced in a single print run, and few copies are currently documented.

Theme History:
The 104 Lily theme is one of the many entirely regular themes represented by a complete fan quintet and a color woodblock print. The 36 Series design 104 and all five Fan Series designs have seal A which indicates carving dates around the third quarter of 1933. It was during this period that Rakusan was making his initial plans for the two series. He created and carved all of the designs in the first six themes (including 104-5 and the other designs in the 104 Lily theme) plus a scattering of a few additional designs in the months before publication of the series was to begin. The prints in both series were later printed in the same months they were published.

Publication of the Fan Series and the 36 Series began in January 1934 with installment one containing the first three themes. On the documents attatched to the Fan Series delivery folio envelope for installment one Rakusan announced that lily designs would be published the following month, February 1934, in installment two (of twelve). In that announcement he used the theme title 百合, yuri, 'lily', which was also the original title of 36 Series design 104.

Unexpectedly, Rakusan failed to make two of his three planned monthly deliveries during the three months between installment one in January 1934 and installment three in May 1934. It is unknown exactly why Rakusan decided to skip those two deliveries, but clearly he had run into production difficulties. The Fan Series and 36 Series designs of the 104 Lily theme were definitely published in early 1934 in installment two. However, because its delivery documents remain to be discovered, installment two could still theoretically have been published in either February, March, or April 1934. Since the wooden blocks for printing those designs had already been carved in 1933, there seems to be no reason why installment two would not have appeared as advertised in February 1934. Other evidence suggests that the two missed months during which major changes occurred in markings and organization were a single two-month block between installment two and installment three.

Rakusan included at least two different kinds of lily among the 104 Lily theme designs, and the defining subject is just 'lily' rather than any particular species. At least some of the lily designs in this theme were adapted from sketches originally created in the late 1920s during the planning of design 69 in the earlier 100 Series (see below).

Description:
The composition of 104-5 includes two lily stems, one with a fully opened blossom with leaves, and the other only with a closed bud. The open flower and its leaves in the foreground are shown silhouetted with internal lines - essentially a line drawing with the solid background darkened out. The bud behind and the stems are simple line drawings on that background. Apparently flying toward the flower is a honeybee. The bee is rendered in great detail, including blurring the wings to imply their motion. It is larger in scale to suggest that it is closer to the viewer and that the lilies are farther away. This design is not a true negative since the flower in life is a very pale color. This design is one of several early designs where Rakusan struggled with his ishizuri techniques.

The stylized, symmetrical holes in the leaves are a design mannerism copied directly from 伊藤若冲 Itou Jakuchuu (1715- 1800) whose work inspired the development of the entire series. (Jakuchu's influences on this series are the subject of a separate article not yet available online.)

The woodblock print of 104-5 was modeled closely on an actual-size original sumi sketch which although lost can be reconstructed by digitally reversing the image of the woodblock print:

104-5 as originally drawn (reconstruction)

Species Illustrated:
Bamboo Lily, Lilium japonicum, 笹百合, ささゆり, ササユリ, sasa-yuri, lit. 'bamboo-grass lily', is the native species illustrated in 104-5 (and also in 104-1, 104-3, 104, and 69).
(The other two lily designs, 104-2 and 104-4, are native Tiger Lily, Lilium lancifolium, 鬼百合, おにゆり, オニユリ, oni-yuri, lit. 'demon-lily'.)
[In 69 Rakusan apparently accidentally uses the name of a different native species in the title-caption, Goldband Lily, Lilium auratum, 山百合, やまゆり, ヤマユリ, yama-yuri, lit. 'mountain lily'. There are currently no identifiable examples of Goldband Lily among Rakusan's artworks.]

The general name for any bee, wasp, or hornet is 蜂, はち, ハン, hachi. Here Rakusan apparently has intended to show a honeybee, 蜜蜂, みつばち, ミツバチ, mitsubachi, (lit. honey-bee).