Edo Mokuhanga Kitagawa Utamaro, “Five Beauties Competing in Charm,” Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House
The complete Hanazuma Edo Mokuhanga print viewed in a calm contemporary interior.
Close viewing of Hanazuma's lowered gaze, hands, and folded letter in the Edo Mokuhanga print.
Close view of the rebus symbols above Hanazuma in the Edo Mokuhanga print.
Raking light reveals the layered colors and washi surface of the hand-printed Hanazuma reproduction.
A woman at a writing desk looking toward the framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print on the wall.
A woman holding the framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print upright on a wooden table.
Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House displayed above a wooden writing desk with a notebook, pens, a lamp, and flowers.
The framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print displayed in a pale stone recess beside a small ceramic bowl.
The framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print beside a dark bookcase and a red chair in a lamplit interior.
Edo Mokuhanga Kitagawa Utamaro, “Five Beauties Competing in Charm,” Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House
The complete Hanazuma Edo Mokuhanga print viewed in a calm contemporary interior.
Close viewing of Hanazuma's lowered gaze, hands, and folded letter in the Edo Mokuhanga print.
Close view of the rebus symbols above Hanazuma in the Edo Mokuhanga print.
Raking light reveals the layered colors and washi surface of the hand-printed Hanazuma reproduction.
A woman at a writing desk looking toward the framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print on the wall.
A woman holding the framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print upright on a wooden table.
Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House displayed above a wooden writing desk with a notebook, pens, a lamp, and flowers.
The framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print displayed in a pale stone recess beside a small ceramic bowl.
The framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print beside a dark bookcase and a red chair in a lamplit interior.
Takahashi Kobo Co., Ltd. SKU: BJ_P_00089

Edo Mokuhanga Kitagawa Utamaro, “Five Beauties Competing in Charm,” Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House

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Product Details

PRODUCT DETAILS

A private letter, held in line and color

Kitagawa Utamaro's Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House captures a courtesan absorbed in a letter, her expression framed by sweeping black hair and restrained color. Traditionally hand printed on Echizen kizuki hosho washi, this vertical Edo Mokuhanga reproduction brings the rebus, fine hairlines, and layered impressions into rewarding view from both across a room and close at hand.

USE & APPRECIATION

Hanazuma in spaces for reading and reflection

Begin with the poised silhouette

Begin by taking in the portrait from across the room. Hanazuma's bowed head and sweeping hair create a clear silhouette, while the letter invites you closer to discover the private moment at its center.

The complete Hanazuma Edo Mokuhanga print viewed in a calm contemporary interior.

Follow her attention to the letter

Move closer and follow Hanazuma's gaze toward the letter. The fine facial lines and small writing on the sheet turn a simple act of reading into an absorbing scene, rewarding the same careful attention it depicts.

Close viewing of Hanazuma's lowered gaze, hands, and folded letter in the Edo Mokuhanga print.

Decode a name without written labels

Spend a moment with the small picture puzzle beside the portrait. Utamaro's rebus identifies the sitter indirectly, adding an element of discovery to an image you can enjoy both for its beauty and its ingenuity.

Close view of the rebus symbols above Hanazuma in the Edo Mokuhanga print.

Count the work behind the image

Look closely at the fine hairlines and restrained patches of color. Made through eleven blocks and thirteen impressions, the reproduction brings separate layers into one intimate scene, letting careful viewing reveal the craft behind the portrait.

Raking light reveals the layered colors and washi surface of the hand-printed Hanazuma reproduction.

A reading moment beside your desk

Let Hanazuma's absorbed reading offer a companionable pause beside your desk. Her lowered gaze and letter echo the act of reading or writing, connecting the print to the quiet routines of the room.

A woman at a writing desk looking toward the framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print on the wall.

Take time with the intimate gesture

Bring the framed portrait close when you want to explore its intimate gesture. The fine lines of the face and letter reward a patient look, while the hand-printed washi gives the image interest beyond its subject.

A woman holding the framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print upright on a wooden table.

Give a writing space a quiet focal point

Give a writing space a focal point that invites reflection. The portrait's bowed head and sweeping hair remain clear above a desk, offering a visual pause when you look up from a page.

Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House displayed above a wooden writing desk with a notebook, pens, a lamp, and flowers.

A small recess for close appreciation

Place the portrait in a quiet recess where it can be enjoyed at close range. Pale surroundings leave the dark hair and letter in focus, allowing a restrained arrangement to hold a richly detailed scene.

The framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print displayed in a pale stone recess beside a small ceramic bowl.

An intimate portrait for an evening corner

Keep Hanazuma near an evening chair and let the scene become familiar through repeated looking. The private letter and delicate expression offer details to revisit, making the portrait a thoughtful presence beside books and soft lamplight.

The framed Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House print beside a dark bookcase and a red chair in a lamplit interior.

OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE

Care & Handling

Care guide for the Hanazuma woodblock print: display and appreciate the work indoors.

This work is intended for indoor display.

OBJECT PASSPORT

Product details

Dimensions
250 × 380 (335 × 480) mm
Material
Washi paper (Echizen kizuki hosho)
Product weight
138 g
Origin
Japan

Five Beauties Competing in Charm dates to around 1795–1796. After a 1793 restriction on naming courtesans and teahouse women in prints, Utamaro used rebuses to identify them; this portrait represents Hanazuma of the Hyogoya House. The reproduction is based on a work in the Ota Memorial Museum of Art collection.

This traditional hand-printed Edo Mokuhanga reproduction is made with 11 blocks and 13 impressions, using cherry blocks and Echizen kizuki hosho paper. The original work is held by the Ota Memorial Museum of Art.

Hanazuma is shown reading what is thought to be a love letter. Its visible wording praises the beauties portrayed by Utamaro.
Craft Heritage

CRAFT HERITAGE

Craft Heritage

Edo Mokuhanga developed from early monochrome prints that were colored by hand in styles known as tan-e, beni-e, and urushi-e. Printers later began using separate woodblocks for color, producing two- and three-color beni-zuri-e prints.

By 1765, gold, silver, and intermediate tones could also be printed from woodblocks, establishing the multicolor format. The carving and printing techniques developed during the Edo period have been refined and passed down to the present day.
How It’s Made

TRADITIONAL CRAFT PROCESS

How It’s Made

About the Making Process

Edo Mokuhanga is created through the coordinated work of a carver and a printer.
The carver cuts the design into natural cherry blocks.
The printer aligns handmade washi to the registration marks, applies pigment, and rubs the back of the paper with a baren.
The depth of the carving and the amount of pigment both affect the result, requiring precise adjustments from each specialist.
Multicolor works are built up one block at a time and may require more than 30 impressions.

1. Carving
  • The outlines of the original drawing are transferred to the key block and carved along the ink lines with a small knife. Nonprinting areas are cleared with chisels.
  • Two registration marks, kagi-kento and hikitsuke-kento, are carved into the block to ensure that the paper is positioned consistently.
  • Using a proof from the key block as a guide, the area required for each color is carved with knives or chisels on a separate color block. Cherry is used for the printing blocks.
2. Printing
  • A small, broom-shaped tool called a tokibo transfers pigment to the block, and a brush spreads it evenly. Handmade hosho washi is positioned against the registration marks.
  • A baren is rubbed firmly over the back of the paper, pressing the pigment deep into its fibers.
  • The color blocks are printed in sequence from lighter to darker colors. Some works require more than 30 separate impressions.
  • The printer adjusts the amount of pigment applied to the block in response to changes in temperature and humidity.
Meet the Maker

MEET THE MAKER

Meet the Maker

MAKER · BUNKYO, TOKYO

Color, Registered by Hand

At Takahashi Kobo, Edo woodblock printing is not treated as a historical image separated from its making. It remains a coordinated practice in which an artist's design, a carver's blocks, a printer's hand, and a publisher's direction meet on washi.

Yukiko Takahashi, sixth-generation representative of Takahashi Kobo, seated in the workshop.
Yukiko Takahashi, Sixth Generation

Takahashi Kobo was founded during Japan's Ansei era, between 1855 and 1860. The Takahashi family inherited the work of printers, and from the fourth generation also assumed the role of publisher—the person responsible for planning a work and coordinating the specialists who bring it into being.

Sixth-generation representative Yukiko Takahashi learned printing from her father before taking charge of the workshop. Her work extends from the reproduction of ukiyo-e to collaborations with contemporary artists, designers, architects, and animators. The workshop also develops projects that combine the transmission of technique with the training of younger craftspeople.

Many Hands, One Impression

Edo woodblock printing depends on a division of labor. An artist supplies the image. A carver separates its colors and cuts the required cherry-wood blocks. A printer places pigment on each block and transfers the layers to washi. A publisher directs the sequence and holds the complete work together.

The printer aligns the paper to registration marks called kentō and generally works from lighter areas toward deeper ones. Moisture in the paper, the balance of water, pigment, and paste, the pressure and movement of the baren, and the timing of each impression determine whether the colors meet cleanly and how the surface appears. Woodblock printing techniques include bokashi, which creates gradation through controlled handling of pigment on the block, and karazuri and kimedashi, which create relief in the paper without printed color. Alongside the layering of colors, this craft preserves a range of ways to work with the texture of washi.

A Tradition Made Useful Again

The workshop continues to reproduce historic prints, but it also develops new ways for woodblock culture to be encountered through contemporary images and objects. That activity is not a departure from the tradition's structure. Edo prints were themselves products of collaboration, publishing, and the visual culture of their time. Takahashi Kobo carries that structure forward by asking what should be printed now, who should be involved, and how the craft can remain intelligible to a new audience.
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