Girl on Bicycle (自転車と少女)

Designer: Chikanobu | Carver: David Bull | Printer: Natsuki Suga

Paper size: 15cm by 11cm | Enlargement | Shipping Code: [HC] ? ( Change currency: $ / £ / € )

Price: $ 40.00£ 32.25€ 36.75

   

Description: This is a reproduction, but as usual, I can't leave things alone, and have adapted it a little. What you see here is one small area 'clipped' from a full o-ban size print - one of the images in the set Azuma Fuzoku, (Household Scenes from the East) created by Chikanobu in Meiji 34 (1901). I have admired the prints in this series for a long time, and just a couple of months ago was able to obtain a number of them from an internet auction. When I was checking over the new acquisitions I noticed this young girl and immediately decided that she belonged in the Hanga Treasure Chest.

I imagine that the Meiji viewers' attention was drawn mainly to the exotic bicycle, but these days, a bicycle is nothing special at all; it is the young girl's clothing that seems unusual to us! I wonder just how common such a scene must have been back in those days? I can well imagine older folks 'tut-tutting' at the idea of a young girl sailing along in kimono on one of those 'new-fangled' contraptions, but I'm sure most young people were eager to embrace all the new technologies. Actually, this looks a bit dangerous; those long sleeves could easily catch in the spinning wheels. Perhaps that 'thrill' was part of the attraction!

   

Browse thumbnail pages of various selections from the catalogue ...

Mokuhankan Publications:
general (102)   kacho-e (26)   landscape (54)   bijin-ga (18)   contemporary (16)   senshafuda (2)   yakusha-e (4)   HangaClub (69)   ebook (6)   miscellaneous (4)   8 Cats (3)   supplies (6)   [ Also see our Annual Gift Page ]

Partner Shops:
Kawase Hasui prints (12)   Yoshida family prints (48)   Doi Hanga prints (54)   Miyakodori prints (5)   Numabe Mokuhan prints (3)   Guest items (17)  

Mokuhankan Flea Market   (our 'antique' prints):
(All items)  general (60)   kacho-e (28)   yakusha-e (13)   landscape (122)   bijin-ga (73)   kuchi-e (0)   contemporary (4)   set (29)   books (5)    (Recently sold items)