Scholten Japanese Art

Paul Binnie

Scottish, b. 1967

Travels with the Master: El Capitan
(Meishou to no tabi: Erukyapitan)

Signed in pencil at bottom right margin, Paul BINNIE, the series title on the upper left margin, Meishou To No Tabi, followed by the print title Erukyapitan, numbered on the bottom left margin 1/100, 2025

dai oban tate-e 18 7/8 by 13 1/2 in., 48 by 34.2 cm

This large oban print of El Capitan, a famous cliff within Yosemite Valley in California, is the ninth design in Paul Binnie’s ongoing series, Travels with the Master (Meisho to no Tabi), through which Binnie revisits sites depicted by respected Japanese painter and printmaker Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950). Yoshida visited Yosemite in 1924 and painted the study that was the basis for his woodblock print released in 1925. Exactly a century later, Binnie is releasing his woodblock print of the same subject, from a different vantage point, to coincide with his landscape retrospective exhibition, May Show: Binnie Meisho, held here at Scholten Japanese Art in May 2025.

Utilizing 34 colors printed from hand-carved cherry wood and other wood blocks, Binnie depicts the cliff from the south-west, near the Merced River in the foreground, whereas Yoshida viewed the cliff from further east, giving a profile view of the rock. Binnie depicts the warm afternoon light of a September day, with much of the foreground in shadow but the upper cliff in warm sunlight and colorful reflections in the river, while Yoshida represented morning, with the light from behind the artist from the East.

As usual with this series and most of Binnie’s woodblock prints, this print was produced in an edition limited to only 100 impressions.

(inv. no. C-4290)

$950

Scholten Japanese Art

Paul Binnie

Scottish, b. 1967

Kitten Kabuki: The Konpira-za

Oil on canvas; signed at lower right, BINNIE, 1997

painting 21 by 26 in., 53.3 by 66 cm
frame 25 1/2 by 30 in., 64.77 by 76.2 cm

This was painted in front of the oldest surviving Kabuki theater, the Konpira-za Theater (also known as the Kanamaru-za theater) built in 1835 in the town of Kotohira on the island of Shikoku. The theater has had a long and colorful history, including being used as a movie theater and later abandoned, but it was fully restored in 1976, twenty-one years before Binnie painted this in 1997. A small kitten on the gravel forecourt provided a focal point, as well as the playful title.

(inv. no. C-4249)

$5,200

Scholten Japanese Art

Paul Binnie

Scottish, b. 1967

Japanese Garden 2: Koi Pond and Pink Azelea

Pastel on grey paper, 1996

19 1/2 by 25 1/2 in., 49.5 by 64.8 cm

This was a large private garden in Yamagata, part of what was once an extensive farm with fruit trees, flowers and a koi pond quite near the house, decorated with stone lanterns. Binnie visited this garden almost annually from 1994 to 1998.

(inv. no. C-4313)

$1,000

Scholten Japanese Art

Paul Binnie

Scottish, b. 1967

Shrine in the Rain, Shikoku

Oil on canvas; signed at lower right, BINNIE, 1997

painting 21 by 18 in., 53.34 by 45.72 cm
frame 25 1/2 by 22 in., 64.77 x 55.88 cm

In 1997 Binnie traveled to Shikoku, the fourth largest of the main islands of the Japanese archipelago, in order to paint the Konpira-za Theater, exhibited here as Kitten Kabuki. He was also interested in the 88 shrines and temples of Shikoku, a pilgrimage route popular since before the Edo period, and he followed the route for several days, painting and sketching as he traveled. This painting has an impressionistic, misty feel due to the drizzling weather which eventually became so heavy he had to stop painting. Some years later, the artist realised that he liked the evocative atmosphere of this work, and he decided to exhibit it just as it is.

(inv. no. C-4250)

$4,800

Scholten Japanese Art

Katsushika Hokusai

1760-1849

The Hundred Poems [By the Hundred Poets] as Told by the Nurse: Ariwara no Narihira Ason [Rokkasen]
(Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki: Ariwara no Narihira Ason)

signed zen Hokusai Manji, with censor’s seal kiwame (approved) and publisher’s seal Eijudo of Ise Sanjiro, ca. 1835-36

oban yoko-e 10 1/4 by 15 in., 25.9 by 38 cm

The print references the poem by the poet Ariwara no Narihira (825-880), who is one of the Rokkasen (Six Immortal Poets). He was apparently exiled as punishment for an affair with the Empress. The Tale of Ise (Ise Monagatari), an anonymous 10th century collection of stories and poems, is believed to be based on his diaries.

Chihayaburu
kami yo mo kikazu
Tatsutagawa
kara kurenai ni
Mizu kukuru to wa

Unheard of
Even in the age
Of the might gods
These deep crimson splashes
Dyed in Tatsuta’s waters

The Tatsuta River, located six miles west of Nara near the Horyuji Temple, has long been considered an ideal place to view red maples in autumn. Much like Mt. Yoshino is famous for its cherry blossoms in the spring, the Tatsuta is famous for the red maples lining its banks and the fallen leaves floating on the water.

References:
Helen Craig McCullough (translation), Tale of Ise: Lyrical Episodes from Tenth-Century Japan, 1968, p. 141, poem no. 106
Matthi Forrer with texts by Edmond de Goncourt, Hokusai, 1988, p. 344, no. 430 (sketch) & no. 431
Peter Morse: Hokusai: One Hundred Poets, 1989, pp. 54-55, no. 17
Matthi Forrer, Hokusai: Prints and Drawings, 1991, no. 78
Seiji Nagata, Mehinsen Ukiyo-e: Vol. IX, Hokusai II, 1991, no. 11
Gian Carlo Calza, Hokusai: Il vecchio pazzo per la pittura, 1999, p. 392, no. VI.12.3
Gian Carlo Calza, Hokusai, 2003, p. 378, no. VI.12.3
Ann Yonemura, Hokusai, 2006, p. 100, no. 68
Matthi Forrer, Hokusai: Mountains and Water, Flowers and Birds, 2008, no. 43
Seiji Nagata, Hokusai Updated, 2019, p. 246, no. 427
Sarah E. Thompson, Hokusai’s Landscapes: The Complete Series, 2019, p. 181, no. 107
Andreas Marks, Hokusai, 2024, p. 640-641, no. 17

(inv. no. 10-5533)

price: Contact gallery

Scholten Japanese Art

Katsushika Hokusai

1760-1849

A Journey to the Waterfalls in All the Provinces: Kiyotaki Kannon Waterfall at Sakanoshita on the Tokaido
(Shokoku Taki Meguri: Tokaido Sakanoshita Kiyotaki Kannon)

printed with blue outline block; signed zen Hokusai Iitsu hitsu, with censor’s seal kiwame, publisher’s seal Eijudo (Nishimuraya Yohachi), ca. early 1833

oban tate-e 14 3/4 by 9 7/8 in., 37.4 by 25.2 cm

This print is from a series of only eight designs which was published by Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudo), likely beginning in early 1833. The series is first mentioned in an advertisement found in the back of a book published around the time of the New Year in 1833. The bold compositions utilize shades of blue extensively, likely inspired by the tremendous success of Hokusai’s most celebrated series, Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, produced by the same publisher, Nishimuraya Yohachi beginning around 1830. In the same manner as the Thirty-Six Views series, blue pigment was used for the keyblock outlines on the waterfall series, the only vertical oban series designed by Hokusai.

As is not unusual for Hokusai, his signature style varies within the series, four designs, Aoigaoka, Yoro, Kirifuri and this one, Kiyotaki, have signatures which begin with the ‘I’ of ‘Iitsu’ written in formal kaisho script, while the signature on the remaining four works utilize shoso script. In Hokusai: Beyond The Great Wave, Asano Shugo theorizes that the ‘kaisho’ group were published around the New Year of 1833, slightly earlier than ‘sosho’ group.

Some of the compositions in the waterfal series appear to be based on Hokusai’s personal observations, while others were likely adapted from illustrated gazetters known as meisho zue (lit. ‘popular views’). In the late 17th century stone images of three dieties, Amida Buddha, Eleven-Headed Kannon, and Enmei Jizo were all enshrined in a cave located beside the falls, which became a destination for pilgrims seeking its miraculous powers. Hokusai’s depiction of this location, the Kiyotaki Kannon waterfall, is faithful to the topography of the sacred site with its narrow stream falling down the cliff face.

Exhibited:
Near and Far: Landscapes by Japanese Artists, The Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture, Hanford, California, January 6 – April 20, 2013

References:
Matthi Forrer, Hokusai: Prints and Drawings, 1991, no. 44
Gian Carlo Calza, Hokusai: Il vecchio pazzo per la pittura, 1999, p. 342, no. V.48.2
Gian Carlo Calza, Hokusai, 2003, p. 378, no. VI.12.3 (similar to this example)
Timothy Clark, ed., Hokusai: Byond the Great Wave, 2017, p. 142 (Asano Shugo re: series)
Rossella Menegazzo, ed., Hokusai: The Master’s Legacy, 2017, p. 66, no. 1.3
Seiji Nagata, Hokusai Updated, 2019, p. 247, no. 429
Sarah E. Thompson, Hokusai’s Landscapes: The Complete Series, 2019. pp. 94-95, no. 51 (MFA, Boston, 21.6684)
Andreas Marks, Hokusai, 2024, p. 547 (MET, JP2926)
The British Museum, Morrison Collection, no. 1906,1220,0.554; and 1937,0710,0.194
Honolulu Museum of Art, Michener Collection, object no. 19473 Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession nos. JP1083 (similar to this example); JP2926; and JP1428
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Bigelow Collection, no. 11.25223; and Spaulding Collection, no. 21.6684 (both with similar coloration to this example)

(inv. no. 10-0280)

price: Contact gallery

Scholten Japanese Art

Katsushika Hokusai

1760-1849

The Hundred Poems [By the Hundred Poets] as Told by the Nurse: Empress Jito
(Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki: Jito Tenno)

signed Saki no Hokusai Manji, with censor’s seal kiwame (approved), and publisher’s seal Eijudo (Eijudo Hibino of Nishimuraya Yohachi), ca. 1835-36

oban yoko-e 10 1/4 by 14 7/8 in., 25.9 by 37.7 cm

This is the second design from Hokusai’s uncompleted series, The Hundred Poems as Told by the Nurse, which was the last major single sheet series Hokusai designed before he devoted his remaining years primarily to painting commissions. Of the intended series of one hundred, only twenty-seven prints are known to have been completed; an additional sixty-four designs survive in the form of preparatory drawings. The preparatory drawing for this design is

The publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi I (b. ca. 1720) originally commissioned and began publishing the series, but for unknown reasons, his shop, Eijudo, ceased to exist by late 1835. After issuing only five prints with the Eijudo seal in the spring of 1835, the series was then taken over by the publisher Ise Sanjiro’s firm, Iseri. The remaining twenty-two published prints bear a different seal which also can be read Eijudo, an intriguing nod to the apparently defunct (or perhaps acquired) Eijudo firm.

Hokusai based the series on the well-known anthology of poems, the Hyakunin Isshu (A Hundred Poems by a Hundred Poets), compiled by the poet Fujiwara no Teika in 1235. The collected verse were (and continue to be) familiar to most Japanese in some format, including a shell matching games (similar to the Western game known as ‘concentration’), where the challenge was to match the poet painted on the interior of one shell to their verse painted on another. Hokusai approaches the poems from the perspective of an uneducated wet-nurse, allowing for seemingly simple minded mistakes or misinterpretations which add a lighthearted quality to his renditions.

This print features a poem in the cartouche by the Empress Jito Tenno (645-703), the daughter of the Emperor Tenji Tenno (626-672, the author of the poem utilized in the first print from the series). Empress Jito was the third female empress of Japan who reigned from 686 until 697.

Haru sugite
Natsu kinekerashi
Shirotae no
Koromo hosu cho
Ama-no-kaguyama

Spring, it seems, has passed
And the summer come again
For the silk-white robes
So ’tis said, are spread to dry
On the “Mount of Heaven’s Perfume”

The Mount of Heaven refers to a hill near Nara which was thought to be in the shape of a perfume bottle. Traditionally, locals would wash their clothes in early spring and spread them on the slopes to dry. Hokusai’s composition illustrates the villagers carrying bundles of clothing to be washed in the flowing river, while two villagers head towards the hill to the left with freshly washed ‘pure white’ garments hanging from a pole suspended between them. Peter Morse’s interpretation of Hokusai’s visual pun is found in the distance where tall racks are apparently drying flax fibers, a step in linen production after soaking raw flax in water in order to rot away the woody stalk exterior. In the last line of the poem, the word ama can be read as heaven or flax, and kagu is any sort of aroma; hence Ama-no-kaguyama could either be read as ‘Mount of Heaven’s Perfume,’ or, ‘the stench of flax.’

(inv. no. 10-5532)

price: Contact gallery

Scholten Japanese Art

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido: Station 9, Odawara, Sakawa River
(Tokaido Gojusan Tsuji no Uchi: Odawara, Sakawagawa)

signed Hiroshige ga with publisher’s seal Hoeido (Takenouchi Magohachi), and censor’s seal kiwame (approved) on the left-hand margin, ca. 1832-33

oban yoko-e 9 7/8 by 15 1/4 in., 25.2 by 38.6 cm

(inv. no. 10-5988)

price: $4,200

Scholten Japanese Art

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido: Station 29, Hamamatsu, Winter Scene
(Tokaido Gojusan Tsuji no Uchi: Hamamatsu, fuyugare no zu)

signed Hiroshige ga with publisher’s seal Hoeido (Takenouchi Magohachi), and censor’s seal kiwame (approved) on the left-hand margin, flower shaped collector’s seal Naka on verso, ca. 1832-33

oban yoko-e 9 1/2 by 14 3/8 in., 24.1 by 36.4 cm

(inv. no. 10-6009)

price: $3,800

Scholten Japanese Art

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido: No. 32, Seba
(Kisokaido rokujukyu tsugi no uchi: Sanjuni, Seba)

signed Hiroshige ga, with red artist’s seal Ichiryusai, titled at the upper left, Sanjuni (no. 32), Kisokaido rokujukyu tsugi no uchi, Seba, followed by the publisher’s seal Kinjudo (Iseya Rihei), ca. 1836-37

oban yoko-e 9 3/8 by 14 1/4 in., 23.8 by 36.2 cm

Following the success of Hiroshige’s series, Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi), illustrating the eastern coastal road between the capitals of Edo and Kyoto, the publisher Takenouchi Magohachi of the Hoeido firm announced in 1834 and again in 1835 the upcoming publication of a new print series designed by Hiroshige illustrating views along the Kisokaido, the inland route between the two cities that passed over the mountains. However, for unknown reasons another artist, Keisai Eisen (1790-1848), launched the series in 1835, producing 24 designs, 11 of which correspond to the first 11 stops on the Kisokaido, and an additional 13 designs of random locations along the route (two of which are unsigned but attributed to Eisen). Takenouchi’s early advertisements of the series did not promise all 69 stations but only of views along the route, and the titles on Eisen’s compositions are equally vague. This circumspect approach by Takenouchi is reasonable, as committing to a full size (oban) series of over 69 prints was an unprecendented financial commitment to say the least. By the end of the following year in 1836, Eisen stopped producing designs for the series and Takenouchi also stepped away from the project (possibly retiring from the print business). The publisher Iseya Rihei of the well-established firm Kinjudo resumed production by purchasing the Eisen blocks and recruiting Hiroshige back to the project. The subsequent designs by Hiroshige featured a new title for the series with an ambitious promise, The Sixty-nine Stations along the Kisokaido, a promise fulfilled by eventually completed 47 designs, bringing the total to 71 prints in the series.

Compared to the Tokaido, which primarily ran along the coast from Edo to Kyoto, the Kisokaido (central mountain route also known as the Nakasendo), was roughly 24 miles longer, and considerably more difficult with nine steep mountain passes. That said, traveling on the Kisokaido was approximately one third as expensive as on the Tokaido, and with stamina and good fortune with the changeable mountain weather, a traveler was additionally rewarded with stunning scenic beauty. Nevertheless, the faster and more direct coastal road remained the highway of choice for most. Among the daimyo (feudal lords), who were obligated to maintain residences at home and the capital, 146 regularly utilized the Tokaido, compared to 30 opting for the Kisokaido. The Tokaido was also popular with travelers due to the frequent opportunities to glimpse the sacred Mount Fuji along the way, or for those on a pilgrimage to the Ise Grand Shrine which was located near Yokkaichi on the route.

As such, it is not surprising that even with all of the beautiful views on the inland route, the Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido is a rare subject, presumably because it was literally, the road less traveled. Hiroshige himself did eventually travel the Kisokaido in 1837, after he had already produced 22 designs for the series, including this image of station number 32, Seba. Considered one of Hiroshige’s very best landscapes, one is hard-pressed to find new ways to describe the lyrical beauty of the composition. Two boatmen are poling on a windswept river in the fading light as the moon sits low on the horizon. The branches of willow trees and reeds along the river’s edge bend in unison as the river sweeps diagonally across the composition. The twilight sky is streaked with bands of clouds and alternating layers of blue, grey and pink below the descending darkness from above. Unlike other iconic Hiroshige prints such as Kambara and Shono from the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido, or Ohashi Bridge from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, impressions of Seba are rare to the market. The positioning of the station name touching the clearly printed red seal, well-defined parallel lines in the sky and blue bokashi (gradation of color) throughout the water, and the boatmen’s jackets in blue are all indicators of an early impression.

In nearly every publication on Hiroshige, or Japanese landscape prints, or even Japanese prints in general, Seba makes an appearance as an exemplary representation of the artist’s work. As Tamba (translated by C.H. Mitchell) succinctly notes, “This is generally acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of the Kisokaido series.” The following year, Narazaki (also translated by Mitchell), waxes eloquently on the beautiful composition, concluding, “Hiroshige’s philosophy, which maintained that there is a feeling in nature itself, is perhaps most clearly stated in some of his prints from the Kisokaido series. A few of these designs are among his finest work. This print of Seba is an almost perfect statement of his artistic philosophy.” Richard Lane likewise commented, “Seba, is a model of classical perfection.”

(inv. no. 10-6011)

price: Contact gallery

Scholten Japanese Art

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Kumano Junisha Shrine, Popularly Known as Juniso
(Meisho Edo hyakkei: Tsunohazu Kumano Junisha zokusho Juniso)

signed Hiroshige hitsu, with publisher’s seal on lower left margin, Shitaya shinkuro Uo-Ei (Uoya Eikichi), censor’s seal aratame (examined), and date seal Ryu-shichi (year of the dragon [1856], 7th lunar month)

oban tate-e 14 5/8 by 10 1/8 in., 37.3 by 25.6 cm

References:
Henry D. Smith II, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Illustrations by Hiroshige, George Braziller & Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1986, no. 50
HIROSHIGE: A James A. Michener Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1991, p.104, no. IV-32-E
Yamaguchi Keizaburo, Meihin Soroimono Ukiyo-e, Vol. X: Hiroshige I, 1991, no. 95
Mikhail USPENSKY, One Hundred Views of Edo by Ando Hiroshige, 1997, p. 120, no. 50
Melanie Trede and Lorenz Bichler, Hiroshige: One Hundred Views of Edo, 2007, p. 150, no. 50
Goto Kenichiro, Kubo Tsunehiko and Sons Collection, Second Term: Ukiyo-e Hanga Edo-e Hen, 2009, p. 126, no. 97-64
Samuel C. Morse, Reinventing Tokyo: Japan’s Largest City in the Artistic Imagination, Mead Art Museum & Anherst College, 2012, p. 67, no. 7
Ichikawa Shinya, The Hara Yasusaburo Collection: HIROSHIGE VIVID Exhibition Catalogue, 2016, p. 285, no. II-102
Art Institute of Chicago, accession nos. 1939.1414, and 1939.1470 The British Museum, registration no. 1906,1220,0.684
Chazen Museum of Art, John H. Van Vleck Collection, accession no. 1980.1644
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org), accession nos. 11.16680, 11.35820, 11.36876.35, 11.45637, 21.9475

(inv. no. 10-5748)

price: $5,500

Scholten Japanese Art

Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo
(Meisho Edo hyakkei: Fukagawa Susaki jumantsubo)

printed with mica on the feathers; titled at the upper right, Meisho Edo hyakkei: Fukagawa Susaki jumantsubo, signed Hiroshige ga, with censor’s seals, aratame (examined), and date seal, mi uru go (the year of the snake [1857] intercalary 5th month), followed by the publisher’s seal, Shitaya Shinkuro, Uoei (Sakanaya Eikichi), 1857

oban tate-e 14 by 9 3/4 in., 35.7 by 24.7 cm

This is a view from Fukagawa Susaki, the very well known peninsula along Edo Bay with the popular Benten Shrine at the very tip. The land offered excellent shellfish-gathering at low tide in the spring. The view faces northeast towards Jumantsubo, a tract of land named after its approximate size of one hundred thousand tsubo (about eight acres).

References:
Tsuneo Tamba, The Art of Hiroshige (Hiroshige Ichidai), 1965, p. 118, no. 274
Sadao Kikuchi, A Treasury of Japanese Woodblock Prints, 1969, no. 1296
Howard Link, Hiroshige: The James A. Michener Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1991, p. 109, no. IV-32-O; museum no. HAA 14,516
Henry D. Smith II, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Illustrations by Hiroshige, Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1986, no. 107, no 301.1478.107
The British Museum, Bergen Collection, no. 1948,0410,0.84 (similar impression); Morrison Collection, 1906,1220,0.727 (later impression)
Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Van Vleck Collection, no. 1984.867 (similar impression); Van Vleck Collection, no. 1980.1690 (later impression)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Spaulding Collection, no. 21.9507; Rubel Collection, no. 46.1402 (similar impressions)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mansfield Collection, JP2520
Tokyo National Museum, Vever Collection, no. A-10569_7398

(inv. no. C-4018)

price: $26,000