Clock and Beauty I (Tower Clock)
Ito Shinsui Catalogue

Clock and Beauty I (Tower Clock) - Ito Shinsui Catalogue woodblock print
Artist
Ito Shinsui 伊東深水
English title
Clock and Beauty I (Tower Clock)
Japanese title
櫓時計
Series
Hotta Clock commission 堀田時計店版
Date
Medium
Colour woodblock print on paper
Paper size (h × w)
Oban 大判
Image size (h × w)
33.0 × 24.0 cm
First edition seal
No publisher seal
Subsequent seals
Edition size
Open
Posthumously printed
No
Publisher
Watanabe Shozaburo 渡邊庄三郎
Carver
Printer
Subjects
Bijin-ga 美人画
Remarks
"Beauty and Tower Clock" by master artist Ito Shinsui is the first in the "Clock and Beauty" series, produced in 1962 (Showa 37) to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the reconstruction of the Hotta Watch Shop. The original drawing was done by master artist Shinsui, and the engraving and printing were done by Watanabe Print Shop. A tower clock is a Japanese-style clock made in Japan during the Edo period, modeled after clocks imported from Europe. The mechanical part of the clock (movement) is housed in a tower-shaped base, and is powered by the force of a weight hanging from the base falling. Also known as the "Daimyo Clock," it was an extremely valuable item that daimyo and wealthy merchants competed to purchase. Therefore, the motif of "beauty and a tower clock" is often seen in ukiyo-e prints from the Edo period, but Ito has accurately depicted the shape of the tower clock that was in the Hotta family collection with a sure brushstroke, and by drawing the beauty in the style of Utamaro, he has beautifully recreated the atmosphere of the Edo period. Incidentally, the kimono of the Edo beauty features the Hotta family crest, the "mokkomon."
Catalogue number
IS144
Supplementary images