Japanese antique black and gold lacquered kanban (shop sign). Decorated with unusually beautiful calligraphy advertising cosmetics with words like 艶 tsuya "luster/gloss/sheen" and 白粉 Oshiroi which literally means "white powder"; the powder foundation worn by kabuki actors and especially by geisha and their maiko apprentices. The area of the nape of the neck was covered with oshiroi white powder leaving only a swallow-tail area near the hair line bare, an erotic feature specific to geisha and maiko. The frame of the kanban is decorated with gold lacquer Hōō birds and the paulownia blossom mon (crest) of the great daimyo/samurai Toyotomi Clan.
The back of the kanban bares two signatures. The upper portion of calligraphy states the date clearly as Ansei era (安政), a late-Edo era which lasted 1854–1860. This calligraphy is signed by Kosai Tanzan 高斎単山 (1818-90; calligrapher, born in Shinano, studied with Maki Ryoko and Hagiwara Shugan, taught Tokugawa Iesato and Ernest Satow). An example of his calligraphy is held in the collection of the British Museum.
Below this is a smaller signature which reads 後藤礎山刻: Carved by GOTŌ Sozan.

Age: Edo Period, Ansei era (1854-1860)

Dimensions: 48" high x 32 1/2" wide x 2 3/4" deep