Momo chidori kyoka awase 百千鳥狂歌合 [Manifold Birds, A Competition of Kyoka Poetry].
15 double-page woodblock-printed color illustrations. 9.5 folding leaves & colophon page; 8.5 folding leaves & colophon page. Two vols. 8vo (255 x 189 mm.), orig. blue patterned wrappers (gajo jitate-style, somewhat rubbed), with slightly oxidized silver pigment decoration, orig. block-printed labels on both covers (labels a little worn). [From Vols. I & II colophons]: Edo: Tsutaya Juzaburo, [ca. 1791 or 1792].
First edition, of the utmost rarity, the final installment in Utamaro’s trilogy, considered the pinnacle of Japanese book illustration. Following The Insect Book [Ehon mushi erabi] (1788) and The Shell Book [Shiohi no tsuto] (ca. 1789/90), this intricately printed... More