Preparatory drawing for a not identified chuban diptych.

Artist: unknown
Date: 1850's

Two unsigned okubi-e drawings.
(attributed to Hirosada / school of Hirosada)
dimension: chuban

unknown artist

c. 1860's

8 (from 10) eiban sheets approx 11 x 7,5 cm

Incredible how much work was put into these little prints. It is a deluxe edition that shows all skills of Osaka's elaborate woodblock printing craftsmanship; blindprinting, black laquer printing for the hair, silverish mica in the sky and gold pigments even for the smallest details.

An ehon with so-called kappa-zuri stencil prints. The technique of kappa-zuri was used as a cheap alternative to expensive multi-colour woodblock prints.
The paper stencils were laid over the printed black outlines and painted with colours.
This technique was usual until the 1840's.

I can't tell anything about this ehon, the title page and the last page are lost, so there is neither a signature nor a date to be found.

Funny if you look around in modern western capitals and see thousands of wall-paintings done with that technique, like those of the famous british artist banksy.
Below an example I have made for a friend's booth at some fair.

unknown Osaka artist

Kabuki diptych
c. 1850's

Cut-out paintings on paper applied to backing paper with the costumes in luxurious silk brocades. This unusual and rare mixed-media painting format called oshi-e or Kirikome-e was made in the Kamigata area (Osaka-Kyoto) during the Edo period.

36,5 x 21 cm

Some examples made in the same technique found in the web:

unknown osaka artist

c. 1850's

Cut-out paintings on paper applied to backing paper with the costumes in luxurious silk brocades. This unusual and rare mixed-media painting format called oshi-e or Kirikome-e was made in the Kamigata area (Osaka-Kyoto) during the Edo period.

18,5 x 21 cm

Some examples made in the same technique found in the web:

unsigned

Kataoka Gato II as Tomi Maru

Play: Katakiuchi Sozenji Waba performed at the Takeda Theatre 5/1865
Lit.: Ikeda Bunko IV, 696
chuban tate-e 18,5 x 24,5 cm