Kobayashi Kiyochika (Japan, 1847-1915) Print, oban yoko-e, from the series Tōkyō meisho zu (東京名所図), Famous views of Tokyo, plate Sensōji toshi no ichi (浅草寺年乃市), Year-end fair at the Sensoji. Signed Kobayashi Kiyochika, Publisher Fukuda Kumajiro. Dated Meiji 14 (1881). Size 24.2 x 34.3 cm After experimenting with a new style, epitomised by his famous Kiyochika Lantern Cat exhibited at the first Industrial Exhibition in 1877, the publisher Matsuki Heikichi initiated the famous series of 'Famous Views of Tokyo' in the same year. He published eleven prints between the end of 1877 and the middle of 1879, until the publisher Fukuda Kumajiro took over the project until 1881 and printed 76 more prints. This series is emblematic of Kiyochika's work around light and shadow, a type commonly referred to as kōsenga (Light Ray Images). These prints are drawn from watercolours made by the artist and often adopt a photographic style. Reference: A similar print held at the Chazen museum of Art, no. 1980.2464