The postmarks on this postal card indicate it was sent from Shitaya, Tokyo (東京下谷) on April 17, 1889, and delivered to Maeda Yoshihiko (前田吉彦) in Kobe on April 19. The return address is particularly noteworthy—it belonged to Watanabe Bunzaburō (渡辺文三郎), a western-style painter and pupil of Goseda Hōryū (五姓田芳柳). From our other postal card holdings, we know that Bunzaburō resided at #68 Naka-Okachimachi, Shitaya, Tokyo (東京下谷中御徒町68番) in 1889.
The sender is Yamana Ukai (山名迂介). Was he a short-term guest of Bunzaburō, or someone who lived there for an extended period? His message is unreadable, leaving us without further clues. Given that the card is addressed to Maeda Yoshihiko, another western-style painter, and was sent from Bunzaburō's address, it is plausible that the sender was also an artist.
Bunzaburō lived with his wife, Yūkō (幽香), the daughter of Goseda Hōryū, making it unlikely that the sender was a long-term resident—unless he was a member of their extended family. I also wonder if Bunzaburō and Yūkō had any children. Married in 1876, it’s reasonable to imagine the possibility of children in their home. However, there is no mention of their offspring in any available online sources, leaving their family life a mystery.
The absence of information about their children—or even confirmation of whether they had any—leaves a significant gap in understanding their household dynamic. Given Bunzaburō and Yūkō’s connection to prominent figures like Goseda Hōryū, one might expect traces of their private lives to have surfaced in historical records. Did history simply overlook them? Without these details, the context of their home life remains open to speculation.
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