Description
Original woodblock print of the kuchi-e (口絵) type made in 1905 by the artist Kajita Hanko (梶田半古) and depicting Benzaiten (弁才天), the goddess of music and good fortune, with a biwa (琵琶) lute and in the company of a white snake, her messenger.
The work is taken from vol. 11 n. 2, special issue (増刊) of the month of January entitled “The First Play” (初芝居), of Bungei Kurabu (文芸倶楽部), the famous literary magazine published from 1895 to 1933 by the Hakubunkan (博文館) publishing house.
The print on Japanese washi paper (和紙), despite the right signs of aging, including slight wrinkles and fold marks, and the presence of a restoration in the upper left corner, is in overall fair condition.
