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Shōjō kakejiku help pls!!

Raijin

Registered
26 Feb 2015
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Hi!

So, about a year ago I bought this kakejiku that depicts a Shōjō. I always wanted a Shōjō, mainly because I like the the folklore surrounding them, but I only ever saw paintings of Noh actors dressed as Shōjō, and not an actual Shōjō, until I found this kakejiku. It is really one of my favourite hanging scrolls now, and it is a nice small size so it fits perfectly in a small space on my bedroom wall, which has been its home for the last year. Every time I look at it, I always smile or laugh at the whimsical nature of the subject matter. At the bottom of the image she is clearly very drunk, propping her head up with her arm while leaning on the large pot of Sake, and there is a kind of thought bubble rising up the left hand side to the image, containing a scene where she is dancing on the seashore before the sunrise. I think at the bottom she is drunkenly reminiscing over her earlier antics!

At the very top there are what looks like four lines of characters, (Photos 3,4 & 5), with some further small characters to the right hand side. I have made several attempts to translate the text, but I really haven't been successful, and I would really love to know if it is a poem, and if so, what does it say?

Also, at the very bottom of the image are three kanji, (Photo 10), which I think are -

板木西

At first, these three kanji didn't really make any sense to me, but then I found out that 板木 is alternative way to write 版画, and basically means 'woodcut' I think, which makes sense as the image is woodblock printed. But I still don't know why the kanji 西 is there, meaning West. I know that the kanji is pronounced 'Nishi', so the only thing I can think of is that it relates somehow to Nishiki-e? But that is written 錦絵, so I am still a bit confused!

Also, the signature has been difficult to decipher, (Photos 8 & 9), my best attempt would be -

企祐堂画

But again, I really am not sure at all!

If anyone here can help at all, as always, it is much appreciated!

合掌!!

001.JPG 003.JPG 005.JPG 007.JPG 009.JPG 010.JPG 014.JPG 022.JPG 027.JPG 028.JPG
 
The saying at the top seems to be a play on the expression 「初夢や一富士二鷹三茄子」.
It starts out the same (初夢や一富士), but then diverges. I haven't yet been able to sort out the rest of that top message, but perhaps if we crowdsource it here, we will figure it out.
 
My input, such that it is;
1. The text with 西 should be read right to left: 西木. I think the final kanji is a shorthand version of 版. 木版 would mean woodblock print, and 西 would be the name of the publisher. Hence, Nishi Moku-han.
2. The vertical text is 金祐堂画, and represents the artist's name Kin'yū Dō, but I can find no reference to this artist.
3. The text on the image is, as Lincstreff suggests, a parody of the "First Dream" expression. I think it is the same up until the third line. In other words, "First dream: Mt. Fuji, Second dream: Falcon, something". Looks to me like 瓶 (がめ), but my mad googling skillz are no match for this one. Everything coming up blank.
 
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The seal might also give a clue to the name of the artist. It seems to consist of two characters, with the second one (on the left) possibly being 翁. If the OP could upload a higher quality image of the seal, it might help answer the questions.
 
Thank you guys so much for your help! I did think that this one would be obscure, so I really appreciate your time and input.

So basically, the panel at the top is a variant of Hatsuyume, with the last two lines obviously not being 二鷹、三茄子?

Majestic, this kanji 瓶 can mean a pitcher or jug right? That would make sense as she is there with a huge jug of Sake!

The seal is so faint I can hardly pick up the detail with my camera, so I drew it on a piece of card if that might help.

Thank you again guys!

017.JPG 001.JPG
 
I think the middle line is 二鷹 (same as the actual saying), but I say this with less than 100% confidence.
The third line is particularly puzzling. Yes, 瓶 can mean jug.
 
I enhanced the seal image a bit (see below). You can see that there are a few extra lines in there, in the lower left and upper right. I feel strongly that the left-side character is 翁. I am unsure of the right-side character. It could be 材, or, less likely, 村. However, when searching the web pairing either of these with 翁, nothing relevant seems to come up.

seal.jpg
 
Thank you very much for trying lincstreff!

I was thinking maybe the second kanji could be 粘?

I think however that this one will remain a mystery, which is cool, I don't mind admitting defeat when I have tried my hardest, and at least I have some idea of the text at the top of the image, which was my main curiosity, so thank you very much again for your help! :)
 
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