Posted by Andrew (75.3.67.45) on April 27, 2011 at 02:17:55:
In Reply to: Amaterasu print posted by Horst Graebner on April 18, 2011 at 21:32:03:
Hello Horst !
The first word in the inscription is probably "gafu" or "gafuku"
画譜 がふ a picture book or album
画幅 がふく picture scroll
In the upper left corner of the print, there is what might be a satire of "Daijizaiten".
http://kaizenin.com/lesson/003/02_08/pics/001.jpg
The figure dancing inside a circle reminds me of Buddhist motifs, that is only a guess. The way in which the figures are drawn is clever because they also form an image of a funny face.
There are many "hidden" kanji and kana in this print. On the barrel, it looks like there are the kana
コ, ヒ, イ, マ
And the faces of all of the small men in the picture are actually kanji. 本, 一, 寅, 日, and others.
Also the clothing of the men in the lower right corner of the prints contain many characters
such as ヨ, ロ, 中, 田, ま, ん .
As you said, it seems likely that this is a calendar print for the Year of the Tiger.
But I wonder whether it is also "EGOYOMI" (calendar print with hidden dates of the long and short months for that year). Egoyomi was common in the late 1700's but rare after 1830, it seems possible that this print is from that period.
Even if it is not a calendar print, the small hidden characters, when read together, probably tell a story or joke in this satirical print.