This woodblock print depicts the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters at cherry blossom time.  It is a busy scene with many courtesans, maids and men enjoying their day.  This is a crepe print, known as chirimen-gami-e.  Crepes were introduced as early as 1800, with a resurgence in the 1880s with the advent of crepe-paper books to satisfy a growing Western market.  Best known are those published by the Hasegawa company, which was opened in 1885.  It bears Yoshiiku's Kanji cipher, and a series of title boxes and publisher marks in Kanji script.  This woodblock image was first published c1860, this crepe edition is likely c1880s.  The print's sight size is 9" x 7", and the frame measures 13.25" x 10.5". It is matted in a cream mat, in a vintage wood frame. US insured shipping is $25.00. Yoshiiku was a Japanese artist of the Utagawa school. He became a student of ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi toward the end of the 1840's. His earliest known work dates to 1852 when he provided the backgrounds to some actor prints by his master. He had a celebrated career having produced a very large body of work.   P3422     $110.00