Mangetsudö

Prints signed Mangetsudö are exceedingly rare and, save for a portrait of Shidoken dated 1747, are all "benizuri-e" single sheets of "bijin-ga" (women) done in the late style of Okumura Masanobu. Because most, if not all, of these prints are plagiarized editions of Masanobu’s own work, it has been suggested that Mangetsudö may have been an art name used by a dishonest publisher to dignify his pirating activities. This theory is supported by the total lack of biographical information on Mangetsudö as well as the survival of a number of Masanobu-style prints bearing similar “nom de plumes” (Getsugetsudö, Angetsudö, Kögetsudö, and others). Whatever the final answer, it is true that prints signed Mangetsudö are finely executed and as a rule only slightly inferior to those of Masanobu, possessing a certain hardness of the facial features not encountered in Masanobu's work.

The Michener Collection owns two "benizuri-e" triptychs, signed Mangetsudö. These prints suggest that the Mangetsudö publisher exercised considerable care in printing and are only inferior to Masanobu in the hardness of the facial features.

This essay was adapted and expanded from the original (Link, Ukiyo-e Primitives, 1980).

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SUMMARY: Are we dealing here with an individual whose biography remains totally obscure, or is this simply the appellation selected by the Mangetsudö publisher for his pirating activities? Almost all of the surviving prints signed Mangetsudö are done in the late Okumura Masanobu style and many at least are nothing but pirated designs. Aside from a certain lack of softness in the faces of the figures, and, of course, the different signature and publisher mark, it would be easy to attribute these very rare prints to Okumura himself. All of this work is published with great care, however, which would seem to argue against the theory that it is merely the product of an unethical publisher. Whatever the final answer (and we will need much more evidence before either opinion can be given real currency), it is clear that several valuable designs have come down to us signed Mangetsudö. Whether they are merely a reflection of now lost Okumura prints, or the genuine product of a very recondite artist, remains for future research to consider.

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Research by: Howard A. Link.