[modernly supplied title]
山茶花に蓑虫
sazanka ni minomushi
Sasanqua Camellia and Bagworm
サザンカにミノムシ
Edition I (only edition): | 楽山篁子生 | Raku-zan Kou-shi-sei | + Seal B |
[For illustration of seals listed by seal code letter, see the Seals article.]
Series History and Definitions: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. 116-3 is the Fan Series design with fan shape 3 in the 116 Sasanqua Camellia and Winterberry theme. Like all other designs in this series, 116-3 was only produced in a single print run, and few copies are currently documented.
Theme History:The 116 Sasanqua Camellia and Winterberry theme was prepared in two stages. Three of the five fan prints have seal C, indicating that all of their wooden blocks were carved during the first half of 1934. Rakusan deliberately delayed printing for several months after those blocks were ready. The other two fan prints (including 116-3) and the 36 Series design have seal B and were carved somewhat later and closer to the time of publication.
The 116 Sasanqua Camellia and Winterberry theme is the second of several compound-subject themes. Both thematic elements of a compound theme always appear in its 36 Series design. However, the individual Fan Series designs may have both, or one, or the other. Here only sasanqua camellia is in 116-1, 116-3, and 116-4; only winterberry in 116-2 and 116-5; and both sasanqua camellia and winterberry appear together only in the 36 Series design 116, the only design uniting the two groups.
Some of the sasanqua camellia and winterberry designs were adapted from sketches originally created in the late 1920s for sasanqua camellia design 5 and winterberry design 24 of the earlier 100 Series.
Description:The woodblock print of 116-3 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:
![]() 116-3 as originally drawn (reconstruction) |
Although he had access to many varieties of camellias, Rakusan depicted only three different kinds in his woodblock prints, and examples each appear in the 36 Series. The other two kinds of Rakusan camellias are at numbers 126 and 129, which in turn link to their own additional related designs.
Bagworm Moth, (family Psychidae), 蓑虫, みのむし, ミノムシ,mino-mushi, lit. 'straw-raincloak insect', has caterpillars which conceal themselves beneath a bag-like cloak of twig and leaf litter.
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116-1 | 116-2 | 116-4 | 116-5 | 116 |
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5 |
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37alt | 37 | 122-5 | 123-3 |