Ukiyo-e publishers-Kamigata Ukiyo-e in ‘Shopping guide’
March 4 (Tue), 2025 ‐ June 1 (Sun), 2025

This museum exhibits ukiyo-e woodblock prints published in Osaka in the Edo period. Many of the ukiyo-e prints made in Osaka were portraits of popular kabuki actors performing in theatres around Dotombori.

Actor’s portrait is what is now called ‘bromide’. Fans and audiences of kabuki plays bought portraits of popular actors for themselves and also as souvenirs. Portraits were sold by the publishers, not by the theatres that played the kabuki.

In this feature exhibition, we focus on ukiyo-e publishers. We introduce you actors’ portraits the publishers who were in the wholesalers’ list sold, based on “Naniwa kaimono hitori annani”, a shopping guide that was made for the convenience of buyers at the time. Enjoy and imagine the streets of Osaka at the time looking at the ukiyo-e portraits of kabuki actors.

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Shopping Guide
In this feature exhibition we refer to “Naniwa kaimono hitori annai”^*1, a shopping guide published in Tempo 3 (1832). It was a database that included the name of shops with their business, the logo and address sorted by the genre based on the merchandise they dealt with. The guidebook made people understand which shop to go to get the item they wanted. There are not only “Naniwa (now Osaka)” shopping guide but also “Edo”(now Tokyo) and “Kyoto” versions, suggesting that people at the time conveniently used the guide.

In “Naniwa kaimono hitori annai”, under the ‘books’ category, appear ‘Honya Seishichi’, ‘Wataya Kihei’ and ‘Temmaya Kihei’. We have tried to figure out these three shops’ locations based on the addresses listed on this guide, ukiyo-e prints and old maps they published. Enjoy the exhibition and imagine the streets of Osaka at the time.

*1 From “Osaka Keizaishiryoshusei #11”, edited by the publishing committee, Showa 52.

Tempo Reforms and ukiyo-e publishers
Production of kamigata (Region around Osaka) ukiyo-e woodblock prints between the latter half of the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji era (the 1800s) were greatly affected by the Tempo Reforms. The Reforms were led by Mizuno Tadakuni, the chief adviser to Tokugawa shogunate. The Reforms were carried out from 1841 to 1843 (Temop 12-14). In order to recover the economy of the shogunate, Mizuno Tadakuni issued frugal ordinance and restricted the entertainment culture of common people. Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII was prohibited to enter within 40 km from Edo town. It was also prohibited to draw actors in ukiyo-e.
Since most ukiyo-e woodblock prints made in Osaka were portraits of actors, many publishers were forced to withdraw from the business. Production of portraits of actors was resumed some time after the reforms with new publishers.
In such a situation ‘Honya Seishichi’, ‘Wataya Kihei’ and ‘Temmaya Kihei’ continued to publish actors’ portraits after the Tempo Reforms which meant they had survived the reforms as publishers.

Other publishers
Very few publishers were listed in “Kaimono annai” and background of many of them were unknown. As research proceeds, details of publishing of ukiyo-e prints in Osaka will be revealed in the future.