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Assigned Number / 規定番号

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133-3

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Theme Identification / 画題識別

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133 Clematis Theme / 133 テッセン画題

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ADDITIONAL NOTES FOR THIS DESIGN

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Signature and Seal Markings:

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:
During the two years between mid 1933 and mid 1935 Rakusan produced a series of one hundred eighty 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. 133-3 is the Fan Series design with fan shape 3 in the 133 Clematis theme. Like all other designs in this series, 133-3 was only produced in a single print run, and few copies are currently documented.

Theme History:
The 133 Clematis theme is one of the many entirely regular themes represented by a complete fan quintet and a color woodblock print. The signature and seal markings suggest that the designs in the 133 Clematis theme were produced in at least two stages. Two of the five fan designs in this theme and the 36 Series design 133 have seal C which indicates a carving date during the first half of 1934. Despite the early completion of some of its wooden blocks, Rakusan delayed printing and distribution of the prints in what became the 133 Clematis theme until the following year. It was eventually grouped with other summer season themes nearer to the end of the series. The other three fan designs (including 133-3) have seal B which suggests that those designs were carved closer to the time of publication.

The delivery documents for installment three from May 25, 1934 announced the clematis designs as what would be expected to be theme 112 to appear the following month, June 1934, in installment four. However, all three of the summer season themes announced together for installment four were actually delayed and not published until installment eleven, in a slightly reordered sequence but still together in the same installment. After this rearrangement another theme became theme 112, and the clematis designs ended up being published as theme 133. Although the the relative placement of the clematis designs within the installment remained unchanged, the repositioning made theme 133 sequential with theme 132 whose designs share a historical origin (see below).

The Fan Series and 36 Series woodblock prints of the 133 Clematis theme and its previously announced companion themes were ultimately distributed in early 1935 in installment eleven (of twelve), but the delivery documents for installment eleven remain to be discovered. The series as originally announced would have seen this installment published in November 1934. However, with documented delays, the earliest month it could actually have been delivered is April 1935, and it may well have been even further delayed. The delivery documents for installment 10 from March 25, 1935 announce three different designs due the following month, April 1935, in installment eleven. Evidently, Rakusan was still altering his publication plans even almost at the end of the series!

The previously mentioned delivery documents for installment three list the original Rakusan title as てっせん, tessen , 'clematis'. This minimalist Rakusan title for 36 Series design 133 serves well as the overall theme title, but it is less specific than comparable titles for other individual designs. Therefore, a more specific title for the individual design 133-3 has also been supplied.

The designs of the 133 Clematis theme (and of the immediately preceding 132 Changeable Rosemallow theme) look very different from others in this series. These two themes include most of the examples in this project where Rakusan openly experimented with mining an external source for his designs. The majority of the designs in each of these two themes were taken directly from ones found in the Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Painting, 十竹斎書画譜, Jitchikusai Shogafu, a very famous and influential design book (here abbreviated TBS). First produced in China in the 17th century, TBS has been reproduced and reprinted in both China and Japan many times since. Rakusan would likely have used one of the later Japanese translations. In homage to this very well known source, Rakusan presented his Fan Series designs of these two themes in the original TBS style rather than in his own. (This experiment also included a scattering of additional designs in other themes. An article exploring all of Rakusan's adaptations from TBS is in preparation.)

In the 133 Clematis theme, three of the five Fan Series designs (including 133-3) are taken directly from TBS, and the other two are original designs which are only partially in the TBS style. The 36 Series design 133 is also taken in part from TBS, but has been adapted in Rakusan's own style.

Description:
The woodblock print of 133-3 is taken directly from a version of the TBS design shown below. The design includes sprays of clematis with four flowers and a bud. Sitting on one of the stems is a very stylized paradise-flycatcher. Some artistic liberties were taken in rendering the bird in the TBS original, including adding the bullseye spot on the cheek. Most of the elements are very finely scribed in a very loose, flowing style. The leaves and parts of the bird are in silhouette. Rakusan very closely matched the style of the TBS sketch. The TBS print illustrated here is in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums:

model for 133-3 (from TBS Harvard 1940.165.56)

The woodblock print of 133-3 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:

133-3 as originally drawn (reconstruction)

Species Illustrated:
Chinese Clematis (Leather Flower), Clematis florida, 鉄線, てっせん, テッセン, tessen, is a common garden flower in Japan. Today, with the many hybrid varieties, all clematis may be referred to as くれまちす, クレマチス, kuremachisu, from the Latin and English names. The original species Rakusan illustrates here has pale blue flowers.

Asian Paradise-flycatcher, Terpsiphone paradisi, 変わり三光鳥, かわりさんこうちょう, カワリサンコウチョウ, kawari sankouchou, lit. 'variable three-lights bird', is native to China and Taiwan but is not found in Japan. Rakusan was copying an illustration in an ultimately Chinese source. A closely related species, Japanese (Black) Paradise-flycatcher, Terpsiphone atrocaudata, 三光鳥, さんこうちょう, サンコウチョウ, san-kou-chou, lit. 'three-lights bird' occurs in 100 Series design 41 (and 41alt).