
Promise (Seiyaku no ukei), from the series "Eighteen Illustrations of the Ladder of Ancient Words (Kogentei juhachiban tsuzuki)"
- Date:
- 1831
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Two women in kimono stand at the entrance of a shop, one in a blue floral-patterned robe with an obi tied at the back, the other in a pale pink outer garment over grey-green, her head wrapped in a blue cloth; a squatting figure beside them tends a black-and-white lidded barrel or container marked with a red crest. The scene is framed by sliding shoji screens and a pink-curtained doorway lettered with characters, with bundled straw-wrapped goods hanging at right and a low table holding a vase of flowers and a covered dish at left. Colors are muted — indigo, blush pink, grey-green, and tan — and the print carries columns of kyōka poetry inscribed above the scene alongside a titled cartouche reading "Ukiyo" and "Seiyaku no Ukeji."
More Prints by Totoya Hokkei

Potted Plant (Ueki), from the series "Eighteen Illustrations of the Ladder of Ancient Words (Kogentei juhachiban tsuzuki)"
1831
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono

Letter-box and Toothpick Holders
19th century
Part of an album of woodblock prints (surimono); ink and color on paper

Illustration of a Chinese poem, from the series "Picture Book of Chinese Poems (Toshi gafu no uchi)"
c. 1830/44
Color woodblock print; chuban

Kyōka Verse Anthology of Elegant Friends (Kyōka gayū shū) 狂歌雅友集
1826 (Bunsei 9)
Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper
Frequently Asked Questions
Promise (Seiyaku no ukei), from the series "Eighteen Illustrations of the Ladder of Ancient Words (Kogentei juhachiban tsuzuki)" was created by Totoya Hokkei (魚屋北渓) in 1831.