Japanese watchmaking giant Seiko’s output reads like the stuff of a complicated history textbook — or an engaging novel, depending upon one’s point of view.

A web of product lines, multiple, competing factories, war — all is present and accounted for! One thing that’s clear is that the Lord Matic line was introduced in 1968 as a successor to the Lord Marvel line. In contemporary advertising campaigns, Seiko was clearly positioning the collection at working-class men with upward mobility — those who would someday have the means to purchase a King Seiko or a Grand Seiko.

What’s less clear is where the Ukiuo-e watches fit in —  Lord Matic timepieces whose standard dials have been replaced with those featuring beautiful portraits of Edo-period kabuki actors. While some believe that these dials were added at the factory, there seems to be a consensus that they were added by a Japanese retailer (or retailers) as a sales tactic. Copied from commemorative postage stamps celebrating the 175th anniversary of 18th-century artwork, these dials are, regardless, beautiful, intriguing, and perfectly emblematic of multiple disciplines of Japanese artistry. 

This particular Lord Matic ‘Ukiuo-e’ from circa 1976 features a 36mm stainless steel case with an acrylic crystal, a polished, faceted bezel, a stainless steel 'beads-of-rice' bracelet with a signed blade clasp, and Seiko's 5600-series automatic winding movement made in the Suwa factory powering it within (Suwa Seikosha produced Grand Seiko watches while Dani Seikosha produced King Seiko watches, but both produced the Lord Matic line.)

The standout feature of this piece is no doubt the dial with Tōshūsai Sharaku’s colorful ‘Lady Smoking’ along with applied indices and a matching ‘baton’ handset.

This piece is quite simply a beautiful piece of artwork in addition to a handsome, automatic, everyday watch.

Someone else will have the same idea — so dont miss it!