#52 Meiji za
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art of Japan
Typical Price
$500–$4,000. Common subjects: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Maekawa's early sosaku-hanga works are historically significant. Bold, expressive prints are most valued.
Description
Number 52 in a series — the Meiji-za, one of Tokyo's oldest and most prestigious Kabuki theaters, established in 1873 — is Senpan's subject in this undated print. Senpan was a devoted observer of Tokyo's entertainment culture, and the Meiji-za's distinctive architectural presence on the Hamacho district's streets provided both an architectural subject and a gateway to the theatrical world inside. The sequential numbering suggests this print belonged to a larger series of Tokyo urban subjects, probably Senpan's "Recollections of Tokyo" or a similar urban documentation project.
More Prints by Maekawa Senpan
More Urban Scenes Prints
A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru)
Woodblock print
View of Kabuki Theater from Matsuya (Ginza Matsuya yori Kabukiza), no. 3 from the series "Pictures of Ginza, First Series (Gashu Ginza dai isshu)"
1928
Color lithograph
Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"
1930
Color lithograph
Spring Dusk at the Tōshō Shrine in Ueno
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
#52 Meiji za was created by Maekawa Senpan (前川千帆).
#52 Meiji za depicts urban scenes, kabuki, and architecture.