Controversial Series 1:
Osaka nishikiga shinbun

Series 1 -- ONgS
Osaka nishikiga shinbun

See Osaka Series Profiles under Articles for general information about this series.

Known prints

There are 25 prints, including all numbered prints, 1-24, and one unnumbered print. All numbered prints are known.

Publishers

The series was produced by two publishers: Ishiwa (17) and Awabun (7). The unnumbered print is not on Tsuchiya 2000 so the publisher cannot be confirmed.

Drawers

Sasaki Yoshitaki is the principle drawer (20 prints, 1-19 and the unnumbered print). The other prints (5 prints, 20-24) are drawn by Sadanobu II.

Stories

11 of 22 signed stories are attributed to Yoshitaki. 7 stories are attributed newspapers: Hochi (3), Nichinichi (2), and Yomiuri (3), including one (No. 12) with two attributions (Hochi, Yomiuri).

Dates

Dating most Osaka series presents a problem because there are no seals. Some stories are "no early than" datable, by the date of the reported incident, or by date of the newspaper from which the story was taken. Only 7 of the 24 numbered prints in this series, however, datable stories. And the scattering of dates relative to issue number suggests that this particular nishkie series was not particularly interested in "news" as a "timely information". The untimeliness of the stories, and the themes of the stories, both suggest that the series was really intended as a form of entertainment in the form of souvenir prints.

All stories appear to be from early months of 1875. Some stories were original, in that they do not seem to have been based on known newspaper accounts. A good example of such "local reporting" is found in ONgS-8, which itself became "news" in Tokyo -- i.e., a Tokyo newspaper reported the existence of ONgS-8.

The incident reported in ONgS-8 took place on 6 March. The story, as reported in ONgS-8, was retold in the 18 May issue (671) of Yubin hochi shinbun, which also described the print in some detail. So ONgS-8 must have been published between, say, mid March and mid May.

Later issues

Title -- This print was never previously issued as Osaka nishikiga shinbun or any of its later variations, including the last variation, Nishikiga shinbun, which also has no numbers. It therefore appears that zukai is being used because shinbun is no longer acceptable on such prints. Writer attribution -- Unlike stories on earlier prints, which writers signed using a handle rather than their real name, the story on this print is attributed to "henshu [compilation and editing] Ishikawa Wasuke". Publisher attribution -- Unlike earlier prints, which featured the publisher's handle in a cartouche on the print, this print has a cartouche on the margin reading "Ishikawa Wasuke han [publication]".

Series 1
1. Osaka nishikiga shinbun

Tsuchiya remarks that the publisher and parodist Miyatake Gaikotsu (1867-1955) a publisher parodist, treated treated Series 2 Osaka nishikie shinbun prints together with prints in this series, and observes that some Series 2 prints are in fact entitled Osaka nishikiga shinbun like Series 1 prints. However, as she points out, the overall design of the two series is totally different, beginning with their borders and title cartouches.

It is somewhat ironic, then, that Tsuchiya should classify a "shinwa" variation of a Series 1 print as a Series 3 print -- simply on account of its title. As a result of our merging Series 3 into Series 2, the issue that Tsuchiya has been listing (in both Tsuchiya 1995 and Tsuchiya 2000) as a No. 16 will rejoin its family in Series 1. For further details, see the discussion of No. 16 under Series 3 below.

As a result of this move, Series 1 will be recognized as a "shinbun" series, some issues of which were later reprinted with "shinwa" in place of "shinbun" -- No. 16 being at least one example.

We will also acknowledge the existence of variations entitled simply Osaka nishikie on account of the space for "shinbun" or "shinwa" being blank -- the graphs for one term or the other having been chiselled off the block before printing.