Kyokyoshi (dates unknown) Excited TravelerTaisho era (1912-1926), early 20th century
Kakejiku (hanging scroll), ink and colours on paper in silk mounts, depicting a gigantically aroused traveller in traditional dress, his head invisible beneath his folded umbrella, standing on one leg, with cherry blossoms falling through a willow tree and down to the ground, a misty sun or moon in the upper background, inscribed with a 14-character Chinese inscription (see below); signed Kyokyoshi giboku (Inked for fun by Kyokyoshi) and sealed Kyokyoshi. Overall: 211cm x 51cm (83in x 20in); image: 129cm × 52cm (50¾in × 20½in).注脚The inscription may be translated 'Flowers and willows were originally held in common; we do not allow wealthy guests to monopolize our sexual services'. It is not known who used the nickname Kyokyoshi (The Doubly Crazy Kid) that appears as the signature to this lot, but the first half of the inscription—花柳元是共有物—is documented as an example of the many graffiti written on the white-plastered walls of the Café Printemps, a bohemian haunt that opened in Tokyo's Ginza district in 1911. Operated by the Western-style painter Matsuyama Shozo, Café Printemps was frequented by many of the leading artistic and literary figures of the day, often accompanied by geisha; see Count Yoshii Isamu (1886-1960), Seishun kaiko (Memoirs of My Youth), paragraph 9, accessible at https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001497/files/51240_41907.html.