Hokuju gafu 北樹画譜

FSC-GR-780.215

Commentary by Suzuki Jun

Posted June 2, 2017

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

The preface of Hokuju gafu (Hokuju’s painting album) offers an insight into the book’s conception:

Anyone who finds this style to their liking will discover that if they carry this little book around [with them] they will be able to draw landscapes, at the very least, as well as different kinds of fish, birds, grasses, and trees without relying on a teacher. There is nothing better to advance young children’s study.

This passage indicates that this picture-book was produced as a picture manual (edehon) targeting young beginners. In addition to landscapes, fish, birds, grasses, and trees a significant proportion of the book is devoted to human figures. The preface also states that Hokuju was a student of Katsushika Hokusai during the elder master’s later years (Hokuju wa mae Hokusai Iitsu rōjin bannen no monjin 北樹は前北斎為一老人晩年の門人). The influence from Hokusai’s pictorial manualssuch as Hokusai manga (FSC-GR-780.233.1-14) and Ehon hayabiki 画本早引(A quick picture-book syllabary; 1817) is striking. Hokuju gafu appeared not long after Hokusai’s death in 1849 (Ka’ei 2), released in part to meet the demand for Hokusai’s edehon. It seems that Hokuju may have attempted to replicate Hokusai’s style, thus making it difficult for us to appreciate his own artistic individuality. In fact, there are certain images that are clearly reprised from Hokusai’s work such as the figure crossing a tall, narrow bridge (pp. 28–29 on the website), which is a detail from a Hokusai print. The book is printed using delicate colors, most notable of which is a light indigo blue as seen in the background of this same composition.

The inclusion of the censors’ seals reading Mera 米良（Mera Taichirō 米良太一郎), Watanabe 渡辺(Watanabe Shōemon 渡辺庄右衛門), and Ne no jūichi 子十一(Year of the rat, eleventh month) on the title page indicates that the text was approved by the censors in the eleventh month of 1852 (Ka’ei 5).

書名　北樹画譜
執筆者鈴木淳

北樹(葛飾北樹) 画。淡色摺り。改印「米良」「渡辺」「子十一」から、嘉永五年十一月に検閲を受けたことが判明する。序文に「もしこの風を善とするもの、此小冊を携へなは、先さし当り師に便ら(たよ)すして、山水魚鳥艸木の形を図するにたりぬへし、幼児たちの早まなひには是に倍ことあらめかも」（もしこの流儀をよしとする者が、この小冊子を携帯すれば、まずは先生に頼らなくとも山水、魚、鳥、草木の類を描くことができよう。幼児が早く上達するには、これに勝るものはない）とあり、その制作意図が初心者向けの絵手本にあることがわかる。「山水魚鳥艸木」の他、人物画に相当の紙面を割いている。また同序に「北樹は前北斎為一老人晩年の門人」と、北斎晩年の門人であることを強調するが、『北斎漫画』『画本早引』その他、北斎の絵手本の影響が著しい。北斎が嘉永二年に没して間もない時期に、北斎の絵手本を求める需要に応える形で出されたものである。画風も北斎のそれに近付けることに努めたごとくで、個性は感じられない。中には、北斎の絵柄をそのまま用いた例も見受けられる。色遣いの特色として、所々に淡い藍色を用いる。

Selected readings:

Louise Norton Brown, Block Printing & Book Illustration in Japan (London: George Routledge & Sons, Ltd.: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1924), 189.

Copies in other collections:

Keio University Media Center (Library)

Tokyo University of the Arts, University Library