HIROSHIGE Utagawa (1797-1859)

Asuka-yama. 1858.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Series

Thirty-six Views of Fuji. Fuji Sanji Rokkei.

Publisher

Tsutaya.

oban tate-e, 24.8 cm × 36.2 cm

Very good impression, colour and condition. Slightly trimmed.

Asuka-yama (Asuka Hill) to the north of Edo was the first public park opened in 1737 by the shogun, Yoshimune. Hundreds of cherry trees were planted to create a pleasant place for outings and a respite from the hustle and bustle of the big city. A group of people are enjoying hanami (cherry blossom viewing) on a bright spring day. Just beyond the slope, a procession of merchant ladies with blue parasols climb the hill after visiting one of the teahouses. The parasols were called aodosa and were made with thick, light blue paper called kochi. Not only would they offer protection from the sunlight, but the blue paper would make the pale faces of the ladies appear even more delicate. Signed Hiroshige ga.

Sold

HASHIMOTO Okiie (1899-1993)

Rainy day at Osaka Castle. 1946.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Series

Kojō jikkei

Publisher

Katō Junji

dai ōban tate-e, 42.3 cm × 31.2 cm

Excellent impression, colour and condition.

Rainy day at Osaka Castle (Ame-bi Ôsaka Shiro) from the series 'Ten Views of Old Castles' (Kojō jikkei, published by Katō Junji in 1946. This is print number eight in the series (No.8 in left margin and the artist's seal lower right).

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YOSHIDA Hiroshi (1876-1950)

Ikenohata. 1937.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Self-printed. "Jizuri" seal.

ōban yoko-e, 40.5 cm × 27.1 cm

Very good impression and colour. Printing crease in the margin, light mounting remnants au verso, otherwise very good condition.

Lake Ueno in high tide, with a reflection of the shrine on the water's surface. In the background, a five tier pagoda emerges in the hazy evening light. This print shows Yoshida's masterly use of colour, with a multitude of blocks used to produce the blue and grey hues. The trees are portrayed with at least four different shades of blue. Signed Yoshida, with red artist's seal Hiroshi. Jiizuri seal at upper left margin, followed by the date, Showa juninen saku (made in Showa 12, 1937

£1250

HASUI Kawase. (1883-1952)

Evening Snow at Ishinomaki. 3/1935.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Series

Collection of scenic views of Japan.

Publisher

Watanabe Shôzaburô. C Seal (1929-1942 'sausage seal')

oban yoko-e, 38.0 cm × 26.0 cm

Excellent impression, colour and condition. A pin-sized drying hole top right. Full margins.

Hasui is a master at recreating mood and atmosphere in his landscape designs. The falling snow prints demanded great technical skill on the part of the carver and printer as Hasui noted "In the case of printing we must interact very closely.  A less experienced printer might waste seven or eight trial prints before a successful one is made.  If someone is experienced we can decide on the final print after two or three trials.  It occurs occasionally that despite best efforts, a successful print is still not produced.  This is the hard part of composite art.  It requires telepathic communication.  Unless all parties are completely in tune, the process will not work.  When my mind and the minds of the artisans are in complete agreement, a good work can be generated" Signed Hasui with 'kawase' seal. Sausage seal (1929-1942) right margin. Print title followed by 'showa ju-nen sangatsu saku' to the left.

Reference: Plate 309. The Complete Woodblock Prints of Kawase Hasui. Hotei Publishing. IBSN 978-9074822466.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts Impression.

£2350

HASUI Kawase. (1883-1952)

Lake Kawaguchi. c.1941

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Watanabe Shôzaburô. F Seal (1934-1941)

oban tate-e, 26.0 cm × 38.0 cm

Superb impression with strong visible woodgrain. Excellent colour. Faint remnants of 'K.Hawase' in pen, lower right, otherwise very good condition.

Mount Fuji seen from Oishi park on Lake Kawaguchi, the second largest of the "Five Fuji Lakes". The view is dominated by five maize plants (zea mays), a design that recalls Hiroshige's Iris at Horikiri from One-hundred Views of Edo. A seldom seen design. Watanabe D seal 1931-1941, signed and sealed Hasui.

£1450

HASUI Kawase. (1883-1952)

Daibutsuden in Nara. 1950.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Watanabe Shozaburo. Seal: Hasui

oban tate-e, 26.4 cm × 39.2 cm

Excellent impression, colour and condition. One drying hole.

A late shin-hanga landscape from one of the undisputed masters in this field. Unlike his contemporary, the well travelled Hiroshi Yoshida, Hasui chose to depict the beauty of his homeland, with the notable exception of Korea. In this landscape, two women with blue and orange parasols stroll by Daibutsuden (Great Buddha Hall) in the gentle rain. Signed Hasui with seal. Date and work title in the left margin.

£850

KONEN Uehara. (1877-1940)

Remaining Light (Zan to). 1928.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Shōzaburō Watanabe. First edition A seal.

ōban tate-e, 26.1 cm × 38.8 cm

Excellent impression, colour and condition. The first state with the Watanabe 'A' seal in the lower right margin.

The artist Uehara Konen designed two vertical ōban landscape prints in 1928 for Watanabe Shōzaburō, who assumed publication of his designs after the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923. The artist had a predeliction for muted tones. This nocturnal study in blue, black and grey is reminiscent of the the artists pre-earthquake aizuri-e (blue prints).

The red artist's seal 'Konen' is lower right. The Shōzaburō Watanabe 'A' seal (1924-1930) in the right margin reads 'copyright ownership Watanabe Shozaburo' (Hanken shoyu Watanabe Shozaburo). The work title followed by Showa 3 (1928) in the lower left margin.  

£1550

HASUI Kawase. (1883-1952)

Lakeside Shower at Matsue. 1932.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Watanabe Shôzaburô. C Seal.

oban yoko-e, 39.2 cm × 26.3 cm

Very good impression, colour and condition.

A fisherman hurries for shelter under a large deciduous tree, as rain breaks out on the shore of Lake Shinji-ko. The low grey clouds are typical on the coast of Japanese lakes. The sheets of rain are created using the baren, a bamboo pad used in the print-making process to apply colour.

Signed Hasui, seal Kawase. C Watanabe 'sausage' seal in the right margin.

£1750

HASUI Kawase. (1883-1952)

Kinosaki, Tajima. 1924.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Series

Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series.

Publisher

Shōzaburō Watanabe.

ōban yoko-e, 39.0 cm × 26.1 cm

Excellent early impression with fine gradation on the mountain. Toned au verso, otherwise very good condition.

A lone woman with a yellow parasol walks by the canal at night. The shapes of the mountain and the electric power lines are barely discernible in the heavy downpour. A nocturnal rain scene of sombre black and grey, the only colour accents are the yellow lights coming from the ryokan inns that line the street and the blue from the canal. One of Hasui's masterworks. Signed Hasui with Kawase Seal. Watanabe A seal (1924-30) lower right margin. Tabi miyage daisanshū  Third series of Travels followed by work title, Tajima Kinosaki sand Taisho jusannen saku (work of 1924) all in the left margin.

£3200

SHŌTEI Takahashi. (Hiroaki). (1871-1945)

Sawatari in Joshu District. c.1924-36

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Watanabe Shôzaburô.

mitsugiri-ban, 17.4 cm × 38.3 cm

Excellent impression, colour and condition. Minimal toning.

A man returns home in the snow wearing a thick straw coat, followed by his two dogs. Shôtei draws six birds in flight against the expanse of grey sky, using the narrow mitsugiri-ban format to great effect. There are roughly 140 designs by Shotei in this format. 

The print title to the lower left hand side reads Joshu Sawatari, followed by the artist's L seal 'Shotei'.

£450

HIROSHIGE II (1826-1869)

Field of Bellflowers in Shinano Province. 1860

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Series

One hundred famous views in the Provinces.

Publisher

Uoei.

oban tate-e, 24.5 cm × 36.7 cm

Excellent impression of the first deluxe state, with strong woodgrain, overprinting and embellished with mica. Excellent colour and condition.

The Kikyo Plain in Shinano Province with numerous visitors strolling and picnicking on blankets amongst the bellflowers in full bloom. Signed Hiroshige ga. Reference: Strange 1925, p. 193, no.35

£1950

HIROSHIGE II (1826-1869)

Heavy Rain at Tatsuguchi in Bizen Province. 1860.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Series

One hundred famous views in the Provinces.

Publisher

Uoei.

oban tate-e, 24.6 cm × 36.6 cm

Excellent impression with strong woodgrain. Excellent colour and condition.

A lone traveller holds onto his straw hat amidst a heavy onslaught of wind and rain at Tatsuguchi in the Bizen Province. Signed Hiroshige ga.

£2250

HASUI Kawase. (1883-1952)

Mito, the Swamp of Konuma in Snow. Mito hinuma no yuki. 1947.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Watanabe Shôzaburô. First edition. J Seal.

oban yoko-e, 36.0 cm × 24.0 cm

Very good impression and colour. First state. Tiny drying holes in the top margin, expertly filled. A light tab residue au verso, otherwise very good condition.

Kawase Hasui is a master in the genre of shin-hanga ("new print") landscape. Hi Marsh is silenced by heavy snowfall. The branches of the pine trees are laden with snow under the overcast sky. A solitary figure in a warm straw coat has moored his boat and trudges forward in the blizzard, with a fishing rod over his shoulder. A loner himself, Hasui rarely portrays more than one figure in his prints.

Signed Hasui. 6mm seal lower left. 

Literature: Plate 496. The Complete Woodblocks of Kawase Hasui. Hotei Publishing. IBSN 978-9074822466

£1250

URUSHIBARA Mokuchu (Yoshijiro) 1888-1953

Stonehenge in the Moonlight. c.1910-1920

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Ken Koshino.

ōban yoko-e, 37.4 cm × 25.1 cm

Very good impression, colour and condition.

This colour woodblock print of Stonehenge in moonlight was one of a pair (the other shows Stonehenge in daylight) produced from many of the same blocks (betsuzuri). This scene has an extra block for the moon, while the daytime scene has the addition of a shepherd and his dog herding his sheep in the foreground, and a flock of birds in the sky. The combination of the Japanese technique and Urushibara’s artistic heritage give these views of Stonehenge a distinctive look. A rare print. Signed and sealed.  Published by Ken Hoshino & Co. 57-58 Chancerey Lane W.C. 

Reference. Masterpieces of the British Museum.

£1100

SEKINO Jun'ichiro (1914-1988)

Rice Field. 1962.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Self published.

large colour etching and woodcut, 60.7 cm × 47.0 cm

Excellent impression, colour and condition.

In April 1961, Sekino designed a series of woodcuts titled Ine (Rice Fields); each plate was a different colour. A year later, he created this detailed etching/colour woodcut on the same subject, also using the same strong yellow pallette as the woodcut. He studied etching under Kon Junzo and surpassed many of his sosaku-hanga colleagues in the technical process of print making. Signed Jun Sekino. Seal: Jun. Edition 9/35. Ref: Art Gallery New South Wales, Australia. 

£950

GOYO Hashiguchi (1880-1921)

Crescent Moon over Kôbe. Kôbe no yoizuki. 1920.

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Printed by Somekawa Kanzo.

large dai-oban, 47.8 cm × 30.3 cm

Excellent, early impression and colour. Margins trimmed, very slight toning, otherwise very good condition.

Hashiguchi Goyō is known primarily for his bijin-e (pictures of beautiful women), but created four magnificent landscape designs from 1918. In this 1920 design, the influence of Hiroshige (Autumn Moon over Tama River) is evident.

Dated Taisho 9, (1920) January. Goyō seal below signature, Goyō ga. Rare lifetime edition with Goyo limitation seal "Toku dai ichi gō" Special No.1 au verso. Illustrated in Fresh Impressions 'Early Modern Japanese Prints' Pg. 77.

£2480

KŌGYO Tsukioka. (1867-1927)

Ships at night. c.1900

Category

Japanese | Landscape

Publisher

Matsuki Heikichi (Daikokuya)

shikishiban, 25.4 cm × 24.0 cm

Excellent impression, colour and condition. Full size. An especially beautiful printing of this design.

The silhouettes of three moored ships. The night sky is illuminated by a fire in the distance. Signed Kōgyo

Literature: Plate 106 Pg.151 The Beauty of Silence. Hotei Publishing.  IBSN 9789004193857.

£200