Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi"

Series:: Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi
Date:: n.d.
Medium:: Color woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Scarce or exceptional Yoshitoshi composition in fine condition: $1,500–$8,000
Good condition print: $400–$1,500
Later impression or common subject: $200–$600

Description

"Four PM" belongs to Yoshitoshi's series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi," two of Edo's most celebrated geisha districts. The afternoon hour captures a particular quality of light and activity in the district—the busy transitional moment between daytime services and the evening entertainments for which the districts were renowned. Yoshitoshi's depictions of geisha in this and related series are remarkable for their attention to the specific textures of professional life, each hour suggesting a different emotional register.

More Prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Shunkan Watching Enviously from Kikai Island as Yasuyori Returns to the Capitol after Being Unexpectedly Pardoned (Shunkan sozu Kikaigashima ni oite tamatama Yasuyori no shamen senbo kito no zu)

Looking as if She Wants to Go for a Walk: The Fashion of a Married Woman of the Meiji Era (Yūho ga shitasō, Meiji nenkan saikun no fūzoku), from the series Thirty-two Appearances of Fashion (Fūzoku sanjūni sō)

Slovenly (Shidaranasaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"

1888

Color woodblock print; oban

Taira no Kiyomori Holding Back the Sun, from the series Mirror of Famous Generals of Japan (Dai Nippon meishō kagami)

Meiji period, circa 1878-1882

Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink, color and gauffrage ("blind" printing) on paper

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.

Bijin-ga: Japanese Beauty Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi" was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in n.d..

Yes — Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi" is part of the Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi series by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi" depicts urban scenes, bijin-ga, and daily life.