Catalog: Vintage Arts: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese (765)

Kawase Hasui
Zaimoku Island, Matsushima
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1933.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Round 6mm seal, indicating a lifetime print produced 1946-1957.
Reference: Hotei #298.
Condition: Excellent. Light crease in water at lower left.

Kasamatsu Shiro (1898 - 1991)
Rice Planting (Taue)
Date: 1953. First edition.
Publisher: Unsodo.
Size: Oban. Approximately 16 x 10.625 inches.
Signed and sealed in Japanese in the image. Signed in English at lower margin.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Hikawa Park, Omiya
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1930.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Round, red 6 mm seal at lower left, indicating a lifetime printing (1946-1957).
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Reference: Hotei #207.
Condition: Excellent. Top back margin corner has paper residue.
"Omiya...was prosperous during the Tokugawa period (1600-1868) as a post-station on the Nakasendo." - Hotei.

Shoda Koho
Ueno Park
From the Hasegawa Night Scenes series.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 10.75 x 8.0 inches.
Date: 1930s. Printed 1938-1960.
Publisher: Nishinomiya Yosaku. #1248 in Hasegawa catalog.
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Sealed by the artist at lower left.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Shien
Temple in Snow
Date: 1930s-1950s.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Size: Approximately 6 x 4 inches.
Sealed by the artist at lower left.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Near bottom small indentation in snow and lower margin bump.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Sakurada Gate (Sakuradamon)
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.375 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1928.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Round, red 6 mm seal at lower left, indicating a lifetime printing (1946-1957). Old Watanabe seal at back.
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Reference: Hotei #156.
Condition: Excellent color. Toned paper. Two pieces of paper at back margins.

Kawase Hasui
Lake Chuzenji, Nikko, 1930.
Size: Oban, approximately 16.5 x 11.25 inches.
This is a very desirable edition published in the 1950s by Shobisha, which acquired publishing rights from Kawaguchi and Sakai.
Bears the round, red seal used by Shobisha in the 1950s on the verso.
Condition: Excellent. One corner has a light crease at the margin.

Kiyoshi Saito
Siamese Cat
Date: ca. 1940s-50s.
Paper size: Approximately 23.675 x 18 inches.
Image size: Approximately 19 x 14 inches.
Sealed but not signed.
Self-published by the artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Laid down to board. Light wrinkling.
Note: In the last image, I show this print paired with another cat (our Saito 025). These cats also appear together in another Saito design known as "Cats".

Eijiro Kobayashi
Pagoda by Moonlight
Approximately 10.25 x 7.5 inches.
Date: 1938-1960.
Red "Eijiro" seal at lower right.
Publisher: Nishinomiya Yosaku. From the "Hasegawa Night Scenes" series. Hasegawa catalogue No. 1243.
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Toshi Yoshida (1911~1995)
Depicting: Night snow scene
Print size: 5.5 x 4.0 inches.
A woodblock print tipped at the top to a Japanese Christmas card from the 1950s.
Bears the Yoshida seal.
Condition: Light foxing at roof on left. Inside of card has tears.

Shien
Carriages
Date: 1930s ~ 1950s. This edition is early post-war.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Size: Approximately 5.75 x 4.0 inches
The print is tipped along its top edge to what was the cover sheet of a greeting card.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Artist: Uchima (Aohara) Toshiko (1918-2000). Aohara would marry the renowned artist Ansei Uchima.
Scene: Girl in Costume.
Image area: 5.5 x 3.5 inches. A woodblock print tipped at the top to original cardstock.
Bears the "Aohara" seal.
Publisher: Kyoto Hanga-In.
Condition: Excellent.

Kawase Hasui
Mount Fuji, Narusawa
Date: 1936.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Black 6mm Watanabe seal in lower left corner, indicating a lifetime edition printed between 1946-1957. We've marked in red the location of the lightly applied black seal.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Reference: Hotei #395.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Pristine. Removed from original folder. Two original drying pinholes at top margin.

Ohara Koson (Shoson)
Cockatoo and Pomegranate
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1927. This edition 1946-1957.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe 6mm seal at lower left.
Shoson signature and seal lower right...

Hiratsuka Un-ichi (1895 ~ 1997)
Selected Woodcuts By Un-ichi Hiratsuka
Date: 1954
Publisher: Nippon Geijyutsu Hangasha
This rare book contains 30 lithographic plates (23 black-and-white, 7 color) by the renowned sosaku hanga artist. English and Japanese text.
Size: 14.25 x 10.5 inches.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Very good. Light toning and foxing.

Ishiwata Koitsu
Twilight at Imamiya Street, Choshi
Date: 1932.
This edition 1946-1957.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe red 6 mm seal at lower left.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Lighter area in lower foreground. Foxing in margin and at a few spots on the back that do not show through.

Kawase Hasui
Mount Fuji in Moonlight, Kawaibashi
Date: 1947.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Bears the black 6 mm Watanabe seal in the lower right corner, indicating a first state printed between 1946-1957.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Hotei #241.
Condition: Paper is lightly toned on front. More heavily on back.

Paul Jacoulet
Le Nid, Coree (The Nest, Korea)
Date: 1941.
Print size: Approximately 6.25 x 4.25 inches.
Publisher: Self-published, from a series of surimono.
Reference: No. 80, The Prints of Paul Jacoulet (Miles).
Print is tipped along its top edge to original blank card.
Jacoulet liberally employed mica in creating the silver background of this charming subject.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Card is slightly creased.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Snow at Nezu Gongen Shrine
Date: 1933.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe 6 mm seal at lower left, indicating a lifetime edition produced between 1946 and 1957.
Reference: Hotei #345.
Condition: Slight toning as seen in margin. Tape residue at top back margin.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Moon at Magome
Date: 1930.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Printed during the artist's lifetime with Watanabe 6mm (used 1946-57) at lower right.
Reference: Hotei #165.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent...

Kawase Hasui
Morning at Okayama Castle, 1955
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Bears the red 6 mm seal (lower right corner), which is consistent with a first edition.
This seal was used between 1946 and 1957.
Reference: Hotei #605.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Lower left margin corner has faint spot. Original drying pinholes at left margin.

Artist: Kawase Hasui
Title: Daimotsu, Amagasaki
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo, 6mm seal.
Date: 1940. The 6mm seal was used between 1946 and 1957.
Size: Oban, approximately 15.5 x 10.25 inches.
Condition: Pristine. Unframed. Never displayed. The two left margin pinholes are the original state.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Meguro Fudo Temple, 1931
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Black, round Watanabe 6 mm seal at lower left, indicating a lifetime edition made between 1946 and 1957.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Hotei #263.
Condition: Two original drying pinholes at left margin. Top margin has a few faint, diagonal marks.

Kawase Hasui
Chuzenji, Utagahama
Size: Approximately 6.0 x 4.0 inches.
Date: 1930s-1950s.
Tipped at top edge to original cardstock.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Small bend at lower left corner. Light creasing.

Muto Katei (b. 1910)
Engakuji Temple in Kamakura
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Bears the Watanabe 6mm seal, indicating an early edition.
Date: 1954
Size: Oban: Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Condition: Pristine. Never displayed. Removed from original folder for archival storage.
Muto Katei studied printmaking under Kawase Hasui.
The unusual color palette works beautifully in this image.

Kawase Hasui
Kanestuki Hall Bell Tower, Okayama
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1947
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe 6mm seal at lower right, indicating a first edition printed between 1946 and 1957.
Reference: Hotei #500.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Back top margin has tape residue. Very slight bend lower right corner. Pencil notation at lower back margin.

Arai Yoshimune
Fishing Boat
Date: 1910s.
This edition late 1950s or later.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 11.5 x 8.25 inches.
Artist's seal at left.
Publisher: Nishinomiya Yosaku. Seal at left margin.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Top margin has faint yellowish spot.

Kasamatsu Shiro (1898 - 1991)
Bamboo in Early Summer (Shoka no Take)
Date: 1954. First edition.
Publisher: Unsodo.
Size: Oban. Approximately 16 x 10.5 inches.
Signed and sealed in Japanese in the image at lower right.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Removed from its original folder.

Kawase Hasui
Arakawa
Date: 1930s-50s. This edition ca. 1957.
Publisher: Likely Doi Eiichi. Publisher's seal lower left.
Artist's seal lower right.
Condition: Excellent.
A rarely seen design.

Kawase Hasui
Matsushima, Futagojima
Series: Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1933.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo: Watanabe round, 6 mm seal at lower right indicating a lifetime printing (1946-57).
Artist's signature and seal lower left.
Reference: Hotei #306.
Condition: Back margin has tape residue. Two original drying pinholes in top margin.

Unsigned. Attributed to Kawase Hasui.
Boat On A Snowy Lake
Size: 5.75 x 3.5 inches.
1930s to 1950s.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Condition: Excellent.

Jun (Jun'ichiro) Sekino
Postscript Thoughts on "The Book of the Ghost". This very rare booklet with woodblock-printed covers is Sekino's reflections on having produced and self-published the 1950 woodblock-printed work, "The Book of the Ghost". The cover page reads, "Please Read this Little Booklet as a Personal Letter from Me."
Publisher: The artist's Sosaku Shuppan company.
The book is a single sheet folded into eight pages and has a wonderful T...

Ito Yuhan
Avenue of Cryptomeria, Nikko.
Date: 1930s. Printed 1938-1960.
Size: Oban, approximately 16.25 x 10.75 inches.
Publisher: Nishinomiya Yosaku. Bears the publisher's seal in the left margin.
Sealed Yuhan in Japanese within the image.
Condition: Very good to excellent with slight toning of paper.
This rarely seen print is also signed "Y. Ito" in pencil and titled "Cryptomeria Highway, Nikko" with edition number 12/25.

Kawase Hasui
Chuzenji, Utagahama
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.55 inches.
Date: 1931.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
6mm Watanabe publisher's seal indicating printing between 1946 and 1957.
Reference: Hotei #264.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Original drying pinhole in margin. Pencil note at back bottom margin. A margin crease.

Kasamatsu Shiro (1898 - 1991)
Spring Night, Ginza
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.625 inches.
Date: 1934.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. 1946-57 edition.
Watanabe black 6mm seal at lower left corner.
"Printed in Japan" and "Original Works of Art" stamped on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Pencil note "Shiro" and tape residue at top margin.

Toshi Yoshida (1911~1995)
Depicting: Snowy street
Print size: 5.5 x 3.75 inches.
A woodblock print tipped at the top to a Japanese Christmas card from 1953.
Bears the Yoshida seal.
Condition: Excellent.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Rain at Omiya
Date: 1930
Size: Oban. 16.75 x 12 inches.
Date: 1930. This edition later.
Publisher: Shobisha (Acquired original blocks from Kawaguchi and Sakai).
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Reference: Hotei #215.
Condition: Crease at top center margin (photo). Light toning. Top back margin has tape. Framer's pencil note in back bottom margin.

Okuyama Gijin (Yoshito) (b. 1934)
Ginkakuji
Date: ca 1950s.
Size: 19 x 9.75 inches.
Self-published by the artist.
Signed in pencil and sealed.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Slight margin creasing and wave.

Eiichi Kotozuka
Night Scene of Kiyamachi Street
Date: 1950s
Size: 17.75 x 11.5 inches. Full margins shown in additional photos.
Publisher: Uchida Woodblock Printing Co., Ltd.
Artist's seal and publisher's seal at lower right.
Full margins (Shown in enlargement 2).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Removed from original folder. Lower margin slightly wavy.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Snow at the Silver Pavilion (Ginkakuji no yuki)
Date: 1951.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Black 6 mm seal at lower left, indicating a first edition (1946-57).
Hasui signature and seal at lower left.
Size: Oban. 15.25 x 11.25 inches.
Reference: Hotei #560.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Back margins have tape residue. Two small bumps at lower margin edge repaired by conservator. Slight fading.

Ota Masamitsu (Ota Gako) (1892-1975)
Nakamura Tokizo III as Shizuka Gozen
No. 7 from the shin hanga series: Leading Figures of the Modern Stage in Their Most Famous Roles (Gendai Butai Geika).
Date: 1955.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.75 inches.
Publisher: Banchoro. Seal at bottom margin.
Printer: Miyake Koshodo. Seal at bottom margin.
Condition: Excellent.

Kawase Hasui
Rain at Ushibori, 1929.
Size: Oban. Approximately 16.75 x 11.75 inches.
Publisher: Origanlly published by Kawaguchi and Sakai. This edition is ca. 1950s and was published by Shobisha.
Condition: Front is excellent. Verso is lightly toned. Two original drying pinholes at margin.

Eijiro Kobayashi
A High Bridge by Night.
A design influenced by James Whistler and Hiroshige.
Series: Hasegawa Night Scenes.
Date: 1910. This edition 1938-1960.
Eijiro seal at lower left.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 10.75 x 8.0 inches.
Publisher: Hasegawa/Nishinomiya Yosaku. No. 1241 in Hasegawa catalog. Nishinomiya stamp in left margin.
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso...

Kawase Hasui
Kiyomizu Temple Kyoto
Date: 1933.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Publisher's 6mm seal at lower left. A lifetime edition (printed 1946-1957).
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Size: Oban. 15.25 by 10.25 inches.
Reference: Hotei #324.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margins and back are toned. Slight creasing at upper left corner.
This is the only print that features Hasui in self-portrait.

Kawase Hasui
Wada Beach in Kagawa Prefecture (Kagawa-ken Wadahama)
Date: 1954.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
A first edition with red, 6mm seal in the lower right corner.
Signed and sealed by the artist at the lower left.
Reference: Hotei #595
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margin has tone line and discoloration from previous framing.

Kawase Hasui
Title: Kawaguchi
Date: 1950s ~ 1960s.
Size: 5.75 x 3.75 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Hasui seal lower left.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print tipped along its top edge to original blank card.
Condition: Excellent.

Arai Yoshimune
Suma Beach
Date 1910s. Printed 1938-1960.
Size: Chuban. 10.75 x 8.0 inches.
Sealed by the artist at lower left.
Publisher: Hasegawa/Nishinomiya Yosaku. From the famous "Night Scenes" series. Hasegawa catalogue No. 1252.
Nishinomiya publisher's seal at left margin.
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.
Note: The figures on the beach are gathering salt.

Kawase Hasui
Lake Matsubara, Shinshu
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1941.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Bears the 6 mm seal, indicating a lifetime print produced 1946-1957.
Condition: Excellent.

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
"Tama" (aka. White Cat on Black Background)
Date: 1924. This edition printed between 1946-1957.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Bears the red 6 mm seal at lower left.
Size: Oban. Approximately 13.25 x 9.5 inches.
Condition: Trimmed margins. Light scuffing.
The cat is beautifully embossed as shown in photo 2.

Kawase Hasui
Ikegami Honmonji (Honmon Temple, Ikegami)
Date: 1931.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15 x 10.125 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Watanabe round 6mm seal, indicating a lifetime edition printed 1946-57.
Signed and sealed within the image.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Hotei #245.
Condition: Adhesive residue at back visible only slightly in the tops of the trees.
Note: One of Hasui's most loved snow scenes.

Kiyoshi Saito
Bunraku (C) (depicting Japanese puppets)
Woodblock print with mica highlights.
Date: 1959
Edition: 92/100.
Size: 23.5 x 18.25 inches.
Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist.
Condition: Excellent. At the back margins: Tape residue and thinning marks as shown.

Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995)
Cherry Blossoms by the Gate
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1951. Pencil-signed first edition.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition. Excellent. Upper left margin corner bend.
Notes: I've included photos of Toshi Yoshida's vintage envelope and the collector's notes of the previous owner, both of which accompanied this group of Yoshida prints. The collector's notes will be included.

Kawase Hasui
Dusk at Tagonoura Beach
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.75 inches.
Date: 1940. This is a lifetime edition produced between 1946-1957.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Black 6 mm publisher's seal at lower left corner.
Hasui signature and seal.
Reference: Hotei #233.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Two original drying pinholes in margin.

Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870 - 1949)
Lake Kawaguchi
Date: 1933.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Doi Hangaten. Doi watermarked paper.
Carver: Harada. Printer: Yokoi.
This seal combination indicates a 1950-1963 edition.
Reference: Koitsu catalog TK-DH-6.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Short dash mark in right sky. Very slight creasing at upper right.
Notes: This spectacular Fuji view features embossed clouds...

Kawase Hasui
Moonlit Night at Miyajima (Miyajima no Tsukiyo)
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.5 inches.
Signed and sealed lower right.
Date: 1947.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Red, round 6 mm publisher's seal at lower left, indicating a first edition (first state).
Reference: Hotei #497.
Condition: Print is fully adhered to backing board.

Kawase Hasui
Late Autumn Rain, Nanzen Temple, Kyoto
Date: 1951
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe 6mm seal at lower right, indicating a first state produced between 1946-1957.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.25 inches.
Reference: Hotei #562.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Back margins have tape residue. Slight fading.

Tsuchiya Koitsu
Four Small Woodblock Prints
Titles: Kiyomizu Temple, Arashiyama, Kawaguchi Lake, and Kintai Bridge in Iwaki
Date: 1940s-50s.
Size: Approximately 3.5 x 2.25 inches.
Publisher: Shobido Tanaka.
Koitsu catalog nos. TK-SB-50, TK-SB-51, TK-SB-52, TK-SB-53.
These woodblock prints are tipped at the top edge to the covers of blank bridge tallies.
Condition: Excellent.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Snow at Mukojima
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1931.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Watanabe round 6 mm seal at lower left, indicating a lifetime edition produced between 1946 and 1957.
Reference: Hotei #261.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Pristine. Removed from original folder.
One of Hasui's most loved snow scenes.

Paul Jacoulet
Le Phare de Mikimoto, Shimoda Izu (Mikimoto Lighthouse, Shimoda Izu)
Date: February 1954.
Fewer than 80 impressions made. This example is stamped "PRESENT" on the verso.
Size: 17.75 x 13 inches.
Signed and sealed with peony seal. Carver: Maeda. Printer: Onodera
Reference: No. 134 in The Prints of Paul Jacoulet by Richard Miles
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Toning on verso...

Shiko Munakata (1903 ~ 1975)
Date: April 10, 1959.
Seated Figure. Here titled by the artist, "At Columbus" (コランバスに於て). Also signed by the artist and dedicated in pencil in Japanese at the top right, "to Ms. Ryuko Sato".
Munakata's famous 1959 United States lecture tour took him through Ohio. On the tour, he was known to carve one-off woodblock prints on the spot at gatherings and present them to hosts or guests, as once described on the Antiques Roadshow...