Scholten Japanese Art

Natori Shunsenz

1886-1960

Collected Portraits of Shunsen: Actor Onoe Baiko VI as Sayuri
(Shunsen nigao shu: Onoe Baiko, Sayuri)

lavish white mica over printed blue background; signed Shunsen with artist’s seal Shunsen, publisher’s seal Watanabe-ko (Watanabe Shozaburo), and artist’s approval seal Natori on lower right corner, 1925

dai oban tate-e 15 1/2 by 10 7/8 in., 39.3 by 27.5 cm

The actor Onoe Baiko VI (1870-1934) is in the role of Sayuri who is revealed to be the female demon, Atagoyama Kijo, from the play The Bridge of Return (Modoribashi) performed at the Teikoku Gekijo (Imperial Theater) on June 1st of 1925.

The drama presents the story of the legendary warrior, Watanabe no Tsuna and his first encounter with the demon Atagoyama Kijo. While traveling at night in Kyoto encounters a beautiful woman, Sauyri, who he offers to accompany on her journey. As they are crossing over the Modori Bridge, Watanabe glances down and sees the reflection of their faces in the water, which reveals the true monstrous nature of the demon. The two engage in a fierce battle, ending with Watanabe severing the demon’s arm and she flees, wounded but not destroyed, setting the stage for the famous play, Ibaraki.

References:
Dorothy Blair, A Special Exhibition of Modern Japanese Prints, Toledo Museum of Art, 1930, no. 131
Kushigata Choritsu Shunsen Bijutsukan, Natori Shunsen ten: Ukiyo-e kabuki hanga, saigo no kyosho, 1991, p. 30, no.12
Kozo Yamada, Shunsen Natori: Collection of the Kushigata Shunsen Museum of Art, 2002, p. 24, no. 5
Lucie Folan et. al., Stars of the Tokyo Stage: Natori Shunsen’s Kabuki Actor Prints, National Gallery of Australia, 2012, pp. 68-69
Carolyn M. Putney, et al., Fresh Impressions: Early Modern Japanese Prints, 2013, p. 182, cat. no. 138
Darrel C. Karl (www.mjpap.com), Modoribashi, June 1925 (play)
The Art Institute of Chicago, accession no. 1998.167
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. Eleanor Z. Wallace, accession no. 1992.150.3
National Theatre of Japan, Japanese Arts Council, buromaido no. BM006333 (actor’s photograph)
National Gallery of Australia, Gift of Jennifer Gordon, accession no. 98.24
Toledo Museum of Art, Gift of Hubert D. Bennett, object no. 1939.215
Waseda University, The Tsubouchi Theatre Museum, accession no. 201-0258

(inv. no. C-4448)

$2,600

Scholten Japanese Art

Ota Gako (Masamitsu)

1892-1975

Figures of the Modern Stage: no. 3, Actor Ichikawa Jukai III as Gonpachi
(Gendai Butai Geika: san, Gonpachi, sandaime Ichijawa Jukai jo)

with white mica embellishing the black background; signed Gako with artist’s seal Ota, series title, print number, role, and actor identified along the bottom margin, followed by the publisher’s seals Banchoro zohan (copyright Banchoro) and Miyake Koshodo surisatsu (printed [produced] by Miyake Koshodo); from a limited edition, the number 154 embossed (blind-printed) at lower right corner, ca. 1954

dai oban tate-e 17 by 11 in., 43.3 by 27.8 cm

Actor Ichikawa Jukai III (1886-1971) is portrayed in the role of the handsome young ronin, Shirai Gonpachi from the popular play Ukiyozuka Hiyoku no Inazuma (The Floating World’s Patter and Matching Lightening Bolts) by Tsuruya Nanboku IV (1755-1829) which premiered in 1823 at the Ichimura Theater. The white face makeup emphasizes Shirai Gonpachi’s noble birth, while his youthfulness is signified by the actor’s maegami katsura (forelock wig), which would be cut off when a samurai reaches manhood.

While this artist’s signature has been most commonly read in the West as Masamitsu (noting Gako as an alternate reading), in 1966 he provided illustrations for Kabuki Costume, a reference book by the American ex-pat kabuki scholar Ruth Shaver in which he is identified on the inside flap of the book jacket as Gako Ota “artist and adviser to the Meiji Theater in Tokyo and authority on kumadori make-up.”

This print is from a series of twelve, Figures of the Modern Stage, published in 1954 by the Banchoro Society for Actor Prints (Banchoro yakusha-e hanga no kai), an association formed around 1950 to publish and distribute modern woodblock printed kabuki actor portraits designed by Ota. The original folders for this series feature a paper label with an expanded descriptive title in English, Leading Figures of the Modern Stage in their Most Famous Roles, accompanied by detailed text in Japanese by the performng art historian Wakiya Mitsunobu elaborating on the actor’s life and the role portrayed. The blocks for this design were carved by Nagai Otokichi (1902-1979) and printed by Uchikawa Matashiro.

References:
Ruth M. Shaver, Kabuki Costume, Tuttle, 1966
Kendall H. Brown & Hollis Goodall-Cristante, Shin-Hanga: New Prints in Modern Japan, 1996, pp. 50-54; p. 87 (footnote no. 28 on series title and wrappers)
Serge Astieres, otamasamitsu.com, catalogue no. SKU: OTA003
Darrel C. Karl, Modern Japanese Performing Arts Prints (www.mjpap.com), February 1954 (performance date)
Honolulu Museum of Art, object no. 32261
Portland Art Museum, accession no. 91.48.1C
Waseda University, Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum, accession no. 201-0355

(inv. no. C-4454)

$2,200

Scholten Japanese Art

Natori Shunsen

1886-1960

Creative Prints, Collected Portraits of Shunsen: Actor Morita Kanya XIII as Genta Kagesue
(Sosaku hanga Shunsen Nigao-e Shu: Morita Kanya, Genta Kagesue)

signed Shunsen with artist’s red leaf seal, artist’s approval seal Natori at lower right corner, published by Watanabe Shozaburo, from an edition limited to 150 impressions, 1928

dai oban tate-e 15 7/8 by 10 5/8 in., 40.2 by 27 cm

This is the twenty-eighth design from the series Creative Prints, Collected Portraits by Shunsen published by Watanabe Shozaburo and issued from 1925 through 1928. The actor Morita Kanya XIII (1885-1932) is in the role of the handsome warrior Kajiwara Genta (Genda) Kagesue from the Genta Kando act in the play Hirakana Seisuiki (A Beginner’s Version of the Rise and Fall of the Heike and Genji Clans) performed at the Ichimura Theater on March 3rd of 1926. The Hirakana Seisuiki was originally written and staged for the bunraku (puppet theater) in the 4th lunar month of 1739 at the Takemotoza in Osaka. It was quickly adapted for the kabuki stage in the following month by the producer Mizuki Tatsunosuke II. Then, in the 9th lunar month of the following year, the producer Nakamura Juzo I staged the play Hirakana Seisuiki for the first time at the Kadoza theater in Osaka. The scenes known as The Disinheriting of Genta (Genta Kando) take place during Act II, scenes II, III, and IV of the play.

Hirakana Seisuiki is a sweeping tale of romance, loyalty, and heroism set against the backdrop of the Genpei War. The Disinheriting of Genta tells the story of Genta Kagesue, the eldest son of the Kajiwara Kagetoki household and one of the most sought-after men in Kamakura. After he reportedly fails to lead his men across the perilous Uji river during a battle, his father orders him to commit suicide. When Genta returns home, he is greeted by the maid Chidori who is in love with him, and his mother, Enju, in whom he confides that his apparent bludner was actually a deliberate act of self-sacrifice to uphold another warrior’s honor. In order to save her son’s life, his mother publically disinherits Genta, thus denying him the option of an honorable samurai suicide. Genta departs with Chidori, but disgraced and without an income, he is unable to support her and Chidori who becomes a prostitute. His mother Enju secretely helps him unite him with his beloved Chidori, providing the funds to purchase her contract from the brothel. Eventually Genta is able to restore his honor and regain his place as the heir to Kajiwara family.

Morita Kanya is depicting wearing the elegant garb of a courtier, as is suitable for an aristocratic warrior. The arrow-feather motif repeated on his robes reference the Kajiwara family crest. The blossoms embellishing his courtier’s cap allude to red and white plum branches that he shot with his bow and arrow during a battle.

References:
Dorothy Blair, A Special Exhibition of Modern Japanese Prints, Toledo Museum of Art, 1930, no. 155
Kushigata Choritsu Shunsen Bijutsukan, Natori Shunsen ten: Ukiyo-e kabuki hanga, saigo no kyosho, 1991,p. 46, no. 38
Kozo Yamada, Shunsen Natori: Collection of the Kushigata Shunsen Museum of Art, 2002, p. 33, no. 29
Lucie Folan et. al., Stars of the Tokyo Stage: Natori Shunen’s Kabuki Actor Prints, 2012, pp. 108-109
Carolyn M. Putney, et al., Fresh Impressions: Early Modern Japanese Prints, 2013, p. 197, cat. no. 161
The Lavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints, Natori Shunsen (myjapanesehanga.com), IHL cat. #75
National Gallery of Australia, Gift of Jennifer Gordon, accession no. 98.160
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Muller Collection, accession no. S2003.8.1559
Toledo Museum of Art, Gift of Hubert D. Bennett, object no. 1939.239
Waseda University, The Tsubouchi Theatre Museum, accession no. 201-0279

(inv. no. C-4445)

$1,600

Scholten Japanese Art

Ota Gako (Masamitsu)

1892-1975

Figures of the Modern Stage: no. 1, Actor Ichikawa Ebizo IX as Sukeroku
(Gendai Butai Geika: ichi, Sukeroku, kyudaime Ichikawa Ebizo jo)

signed Gako with seal Ko, series title, print number, role, and actor identified along the bottom margin, followed by the publisher’s seals Banchoro zohan (copyright Banchoro) and Miyake Koshodo surisatsu (printed [produced] by Miyake Koshodo); from a limited edition, the number 114 embossed (blind-printed) at lower right corner, ca. 1954

dai oban tate-e 16 7/8 by 11 in., 42.9 by 27.8 cm

Although he was the natural son of Matsumoto Koshiro VII (1870-1949), Ichikawa Komazo IX (1909-1965) was adopted by Ichikawa Sansho V (1882-1956) in 1940 and took the name Ichikawa Ebizo IX. In 1962 he took the prestigious name Ichikawa Danjuro XI, but died only three years later. This portrait portray Danjuro as the iconic character, Hanakawado no Sukeroku, an otokodate (chivalrous commoner) from the play Sukeroku yukari no Edo zakura (Sukeroku, the Flower of Edo) a role he first performed in June 1946 at the Tokyo Gekijo. His final staging as Sukeroku in Tokyo was on March 2, 1953.

Set in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, the trials of Sukeroku are modeled after the story of one of the Soga brothers (Soga no Goro) a popular theme revisited in numerous kabuki interpretations. The Sukeroku costume is identified by the combination of the lavender or purple towel tied around his head, which symbolizes his lovesickness for the beautiful courtesan Agemaki, and the umbrella, an essential prop utilized during a particular entrance in a tradition established at a performance in 1850. The peony crest on the dark kimono is also typical for the role. Sukeroku is one of the Kabuki Juhachiban (‘Eighteen Kabuki Plays’) compiled by Ichikawa Danjuro VII in 1840 as favorites for the family repertoire.

While this artist’s signature has been most commonly read in the West as Masamitsu (noting the alternate reading Gako), in 1966 he provided illustrations for Kabuki Costume, a reference book by the American ex-pat kabuki scholar Ruth Shaver in which he is identified on the inside flap of the book jacket as Gako Ota “artist and adviser to the Meiji Theater in Tokyo and authority on kumadori make-up.” This print is from a series of twelve, Figures of the Modern Stage, published in 1954 by the Banchoro Society for Actor Prints (Banchoro yakusha-e hanga no kai), an association formed around 1950 to publish and distribute modern woodblock printed kabuki actor portraits designed by Ota. The original folders for this series feature a paper label with an expanded descriptive title in English, Leading Figures of the Modern Stage in their Most Famous Roles, accompanied by detailed text in Japanese by the performing art historian Wakiya Mitsunobu elaborating on the actor’s life and the role portrayed. The blocks for this design were carved by Ito Susumu (1916-1998) and printed by Uchikawa Matashiro.

References:
Ruth M. Shaver, Kabuki Costume, Tuttle, 1966
Kendall H. Brown & Hollis Goodall-Cristante, Shin-Hanga: New Prints in Modern Japan, 1996, p. 54; p. 87 (footnote no. 28 on series title and folders)
Serge Astieres (www.otamasamitsu.com), catalogue no. S-540
Darrel C. Karl, Modern Japanese Performing Arts Prints, (www.mjpap.com), Ota Gako, March 1953 (performance date)
Portland Art Museum, accession no. 91.48.1A
Waseda University, Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum, accession no. 201-0353

(inv. no. C-3825)

$1,600

Scholten Japanese Art

Friedrich Capelari

1884-1950

Woman with Pekinese

Artist’s monogram FC, followed by Tokyo 1915, published by Watanabe Shozaburo

15 1/4 by 6 5/8 in., 38.8 by 16.8 cm

In the spring of 1915, Friedrich ‘Fritz’ Capelari visited the print shop of Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962) in search of reproduction woodblock prints for inspiration. Capelari was an Austrian artist who had been living in Asia since 1910, unable to return to Europe because of the ongoing World War I. He had brought some painting samples with him to the shop, and Watanabe encouraged him to design works to potentially be made into prints. Watanabe had been looking for an artist trained in Western-style painting with whom he could work on a new type of color woodblock print, but rooted in the traditions of Japanese ukiyo-e. Apparently he had already been turned down by Japanese artists, such as the Paris-trained painter Kuroda Seiki (1866-1924), who were not interested in sullying their reputations in the fine art world by producing popular or decorative art. Foreigners in Japan would have been less burdened by the commercial implications of Watanabe’s vision and had little to risk by participating in his experiment. Capelari accepted brushes and reproduction prints from Watanabe, and shortly thereafter the two began collaborating on producing woodblock prints. Within one year they completed 12 designs on themes referencing ukiyo-e, including bird and flower, landscape, and figural subjects.

To some, these prints could be considered the first shin-hanga (‘new prints’). Certainly it was the first time that Watanabe successfully recruited an artist from outside the traditional master-student system. And although many of the designs and subjects resonate with classic ukiyo-e, at the same time, the modern (or Western) influences are evident. He also used a higher quality paper that he had rarely used for his previous print productions, a financial investment indicative of Watanabe’s commitment to shin-hanga. Watanabe pushed the printers he was working with to go against their own training and allow the marks made by the baren and speckles of paper to show through which emphasizes the textures of the woodblock printing process.

Although he was happy with his collaborations with Capelari, Watanabe needed something more ‘Japanese’ for both his export and domestic market. He approached another young artist, Hashiguchi Goyo (1880-1921), one of the top graduates of the Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko (Tokyo School of Fine Arts). Here was a Japanese artist who was trained in Western-style painting, who happened to be a very serious student of classical ukiyo-e (having written monographs about three important artists). Watanabe convinced Goyo to collaborate on a single print of a beauty in 1915, but apparently Goyo, trained in the Western style with emphasis on individual creativity, was not comfortable with working with a publisher (perhaps Watanabe in particular) and opted to go his own way and self-publish thereafter

References:
Helen Merritt, Points of Contrast, 1993, pp. 32-35, no. 7, and p. 63
Amy Reigle Stephens, gen. ed., The New Wave: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 1993, pp. 45-46
Yokohama Museum of Art, Eyes Towards Asia: Ukiyo-e Artists from Abroad, 1996, p. 67, no. 70-a
Koyama Shuko, Beautiful Shin-hanga: Revitalization of Ukiyo-e, Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum, 2009, p. 22, no. 1-28; pp. 265-267 (on Watanabe & Capelari)
Ukiyo-e modern: Shinsui no bijin, Hasui no fukei, soshite…), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, 2018, p. 20, no. 6

(inv. no. 10-6157)

$12,000

Scholten Japanese Art

Ito Shinsui

1898-1972

Eight Views of Omi: The Floating Pavilion at Katada
(Omi hakkei no uchi: Katada Ukimido)

Title date and signature at upper right: Omi hakkei no uchi Katada ukimido Taisho nananen gogatsu Shinsui (Eight Views of Omi, Ukimido at Katada, Taisho 7 [1918], May, Shinsui), with limited edition publisher’s seal on verso, Ito Shinsui ga, Omi hakkei Katada, shusatsu nihyaku mai kagiri no uchi dai gojuyon ban (picture by Ito Shinsui, Eight Views of Omi, Katada, limited edition of 200, no. 54), with publisher’s seals, hanmoto (publisher), and Watanabe, 1918

aiban tate-e 12 3/4 by 8 3/4 in., 32.3 by 22.3 cm

In 1917 Watanabe and Shinsui embarked on a print series rooted in tradition, the landscape theme of Eight Views of Omi (Omi Hakkei), which was adapted from a classical Chinese landscape grouping, Eight Views of the Hsiao and Hsiang. The Japanese version is a collection of eight famous views of the scenic area around Lake Biwa, paired with eight poetic references: Clear Breeze at Awazu, Evening Glow at Seta, Evening Snow at Mount Hira, Night Rain at Karasaki, Autumn Moon at Ishiyama, Returning Sails at Yabase, Evening Bell at Miidera, and this one, Wild Geese Descending at Katada. The ‘Eight Views’ grouping was a popular subject for numerous print series in the Edo Period (1600-1858); the annals of ukiyo-e are replete with variations, puns and parodies referencing the general framework provided by the poetic theme. In this composition Shinsui dispenses with the traditional ‘Wild Geese Descending’ that are usually depicted in an expansive view over Lake Biwa under a clear sky, and instead illustrates the hexagonal Ukimido Pavilion, ‘floating’ on the lake while enveloped by falling snow.

This classic series was perhaps Shinsui and Watanabe’s most creative, experimental and important collaboration. While adhering to the traditional subject, artist, carver, printer and publisher explored the possibilities of the woodblock print medium.

References:
Kato Junzo, comp., Kindai Nihon hanga taikei, 1975-76, Vol. 1, pl. 169
Tadasu Watanabe, Ito Shinsui: All the Woodblock Prints, 1992, p. 33, pl. 12
Reigle Stephens, Amy, gen. ed., The New Wave: Twentieth-Century Japanese prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 1993, p. 183, no. 234
Lawrence Smith, Modern Japanese Prints, 1912-1989, 1994, cat. 34, pl. 35
Nihon no hanga II 1911-1920, Chiba City Museum of Art, 2000, p. 113, pl. 223-2
Reigle Newland, Amy, gen. ed., Printed to Perfection: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 2004, p. 107, no. 94
Koyama Shuko, Beautiful Shin Hanga- Revitalization of Ukiyo-e, Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum, 2009, p. 070, no. 2-36
Andreas Marks, Seven Masters: 20th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Wells Collection, 2015, p. 109 cat. no. 55
Ukiyo-e modern: Shinsui no bijin, Hasui no fukei, soshite…), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, 2018, p. 61, no. 94

(inv. no. 10-6180)

$14,000

Scholten Japanese Art

Ito Shinsui

1898-1972

Twelve Images of Modern Beauties: Cotton Kimono
(Shin bijin juni sugata: Yukata)

Dated and signed at upper left, Taisho juichinen shoka, Shinsui (Taisho 11 [1922], early spring, Shinsui) with artist’s red rectangular seal Ito; the round publisher’s seal, Watanabe, at lower left corner; with two collector’s seals on verso, Koshikawa and the other unread; and limited edition seal, Nihyaku mai kagiri zeppan, dai yonjuhachi ban (200 limited edition, number 48), 1922

17 1/8 by 10 3/8 in., 43.4 by 26.5 cm

The publisher Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962) began producing woodblock prints by Ito Shinsui when Shinsui was a still a student of Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1972) in 1916. It was only in February of the same year that Watanabe had finally released his first large-scale bijin-ga with Hashiguchi Goyo (1880-1921), a painstaking process which had taken ten months to complete. In the summer of 1922, Watanabe and Shinsui began production on this series, Twelve Figures of Modern Beauties. Although they had already completed thirty prints together by that time, many were chuban-sized landscapes, and only six were bijin-ga.

The series Twelve Figures of New Beauties (also translated as ‘Twelve Images of Modern Beauties’) was issued from June 1922 in editions of 200, with one print released per month and distributed by the Ukiyo-e Kenkyukai (Association of Ukiyo-e Research). The first large bijin-ga series of shin-hanga, it was meant to capture a ‘new’ beauty, but that didn’t necessarily mean modern. Like the shin-hanga genre itself, the ‘new beauty’ was rooted in the traditional beauty (with customary clothes), but the variety of printing styles and techniques were modern.

References:
Dorothy Blair, A Special Exhibition of Modern Japanese Prints, Toledo Museum of Art, 1930, no. 11
Kato Junzo, comp., Kindai Nihon hanga taikei, 1975-76, Vol. 1, pl. 183
Watanabe Tadasu, Ito Shinsui: All the Woodblock Prints, 1992, p. 60, pl. 34
Lawrence Smith, Modern Japanese Prints, 1912-1989, 1994, cat. 35, pl. 34
Amy Reigle Newland and Hamanaka Shinji, The Female Emage: 20th Century Prints of Japanese Beauties, 2000, p. 54, pl. 32
Nihon no hanga III 1921-1930, Toshi to onna to hikari to kage to (Japanese Prints III, 1921-1930: Cities and Women, Lights and Shadows), Chiba City Museum of Art, 2001, p. 36, pl. 2-3
Laura J. Mueller, Strong Women, Beautiful Men: Japanese Portrait Prints from the Toledo Museum of Art, 2005, p. 90
Allen Hockley, ed., The Women of Shin Hanga: The Judith and Joseph Barker Collection of Japanese Prints, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 2013, pp. 176-177, no. 38
Ukiyo-e modern: Shinsui no bijin, Hasui no fukei, soshite…), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, 2018, p. 29, no. 24
Abe Shuichi, Prints of Japanese Beauties in the 20th Century, 2022, p. 59, no. 48

(inv. no. 10-5961)

$13,500

Scholten Japanese Art

Ito Shinsui

1898-1972

Passing Rain
(Hideri ame)

Signed and dated at upper right corner, Taisho rokunen gogatsu (Taisho 6 [1917], 5th month), Shinsui, with artist’s seal Shinsui, and publisher’s rectangular seal Watanabe, publisher’s limited edition seal on verso, Ito Shinsui ga, Hideri ame, shusatsu nihyaku mai kagiri no uchi dai hachi ban (picture by Ito Shinsui, Passing Rain, limited edition of 200, number 8), 1917

17 1/8 by 11 5/8 in., 43.5 by 29.6 cm

In the early to mid 1910s, the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962) began working on developing a new type of modern print that utilized Japanese printing techniques while incorporating Western influences. He initially approached professional Japanese artists who were Western-trained, but found they were reluctant to get involved with his experiment with old-fashioned ukiyo-e style commercial printing. Eventually a foreigner found him, Friedrich ‘Fritz’ Capelari (1884-1950), an ex-pat who was intrigued by the idea, designing 12 works with Watanabe in just one year. Watanabe was then able to use the Capelari prints to convince the artist Hashiguch Goyo (1880-1921) to give it a try; but Goyo decided to publish independantly after producing just one work together. Finally, in 1916, Watanabe discovered a painting by a young artist, Ito Shinsui (1898-1972), in an exhibition and offered to publish it. The result was a success and the edtion of 100 quickly sold-out, leading to one more print in 1916 and thirteen the following year, including this extremely rare print, Passing Rain.

In the early years of working together, Shinsui followed the old style of print production, submitting a preparatory drawing (hanshita) or sketch which was used to make a keyblock. In the introduction to the 1992 catalogue raisonné, Ito Shinsui: All the Woodblock Prints, Watanabe Shozaburo’s son Tadasu describes the cooperation between artist and publisher, recounting how Shinsui was eager to utilize printing techniques to bring out his design, and Watanabe’s role of pushing the printers to improve the prints with their own skills. These early collaborations by Shinsui with the carvers and printers while guided by Watanabe laid the groundwork for the emerging genre of what would come to be known as shin hanga, and inspire other artists, most importantly, Kawase Hasui (1883-1957), to join the movement.

This print was issued in two variants, one in which the beauty holds a blue umbrella and her collar is turquoise blue-green; and another with the umbrella is brown and her collar is royal blue. According to Koyama Shuko, Shinsui was present during the printing process of this work, collaborating with the printer on the coloration of the blocks. While both versions are exceedingly rare, there are extant impressions of the two variants with hand-numbered seals on verso indicating the editions were limited to 200 each. Presumably, and understandably, Watanabe felt so confident in the potential popularity of the design he was willing to produce a total of 400 impressions, a sizable investment in this young artist Shinsui, who was still a teenager at the time. No doubt his insticts were well served, but the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 destroyed huge areas of Tokyo including the Watanabe print shop and all of its inventory, which accounts for the scarcity of both versions of this print.

References:
Lawrence Smith, The Japanese Print Since 1900: Old Dreams and New Visions, British Museum 1983, p. 45, no. 31 (brown umbrella)
Tadasu Watanabe, Ito Shinsui: All the Woodblock Prints, 1992, p. 28, no. 9-B (blue umbrella), p. 29, no. 9-A (brown umbrella)
Amy Reigle Newland and Hamanaka Shinji, The Female Image: 20th Century Prints of Japanese Beauties, 2000, p. 52, no. 30-1 (brown umbrella); no. 30-2 (blue umbrella)
Amy Reigle Newland, gen. ed., Printed to Perfection: Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 2004, p. 100, no. 86 (brown umbrella)
Koyama Shuko, Beautiful Shin Hanga- Revitalization of Ukiyo-e, Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum, 2009, p. 063, no. 2-26 (blue umbrella), no. 2-27 (brown umbrella)
Ukiyo-e modern: Shinsui no bijin, Hasui no fukei, soshite…), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, 2018, p. 27, no. 20 (brown umbrella)
Abe Shuichi, Prints of Japanese Beauties in the 20th Century, 2022, p. 58, no. 46 (brown umbrella)
Art Institute of Chicago, reference no. 1929.633
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession no. S2003.8.255

(inv. no. 10-5962)

Scholten Japanese Art

Kawase Hasui

1883-1957

Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series: Kiyomizu Temple in the Rain
(Tabi miyage dainishu: Ame no Kiyomizu-dera)

Signed Hasui with artist’s pre-earthquake seal Kawase, publisher’s round Watanabe seal in lower right corner, the series title cartouche, Tabi miyage dai nishu on the left-hand margin, followed by the print title, Ame no Kiyomizu-dera, and dated below, Taisho ju, ni, nijugo (Taisho 10 [1921], February 25)

oban yoko-e 10 3/8 by 15 in., 26.2 by 38.2 cm

According to Koyama Shuko in Water and Shadow, this landscape is also a portrait of Kawase Hasui (p. 43).

References:
Dorothy Blair, A Special Exhibition of Modern Japanese Prints, Toledo Museum of Art, 1930, no. 54
Narazaki Muneshige, Kawase Hasui mokuhanga shu, 1979, p. 32, no. 62
Kendall H. Brown, Kawase Hasui: The Complete Woodblock Prints, 2003, p. 310, no. 62
Shimada City Museum, Kawase Hasui, The Landscape Woodblock Prints of the Taisho and Showa Periods, 2005, p. 40, no. 50
Abe Publishing, Kawase Hasui Woodblock Prints, 2009, p. 33, no. 39
Chiba City Museum of Art, Kawase Hasui, 2013, p.53, no 45
Carolyn M. Putney, Fresh Impressions: Early Modern Japanese Prints, 2013, p. 120, cat. no. 58
Kendall H. Brown, Water and Shadow: Kawase Hasui and Japanese Landscape Prints, 2014, p. 42 (deail); p. 54 (full page detail); p. 118, cat. no. IV.61
Koyama Shuko, Kawase Hasui’s Travels and Travel Scenes: An Investigtion from the Viewpoint of Taisho-Era Tourism, in, Water and Shadow: Kawase Hasui and Japanese Landscape Prints, 2014, pp. 39-47
Ukiyo-e modern: Shinsui no bijin, Hasui no fukei, soshite…), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, 2018, p. 75, no. 118

(inv. no. C-4546)

$18,000

Scholten Japanese Art

Yamamura Koka (Toyonari)

1885-1942

Dancing at the New Carlton Cafe in Shanghai
(Odori Shanhai Nyukoruton shoken)

dated within the image at upper left, 1924, followed by artist’s seal Koka, published by Yamamura Koka Hanga Kankokai (Publishing Committee for Yamamura Koka’s Prints), 1924

dai oban tate-e 16 1/4 by 11 3/8 in., 41.3 by 29 cm

Although born with the name Yoshitaka, this Tokyo artist used the art name Koka for paintings and usually employed the art name Toyonari for woodblock prints. He studied with Ogata Gekko (1859-1920) and graduated in 1907 from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in Japanese-style painting. In 1916, publisher Watanabe Shozaburo saw one of Koka’s actor paintings exhibited at Inten and asked to make a print from it. Watanabe subsequently published three more actor prints by Koka, the last of which was issued in 1919. From 1920, Koka primarily self-published with the Yamamura Koka Hanga Kankokai (Publishing Committee for Yamamura Koka Prints).

In 1924 Koka published Dancing at the New Carlton Cafe as part of an untitled set of 10 prints which included landscapes, beautiful women, and bird and flower subjects. The dynamic composition of the interior view holds a unique place among all of Koka’s prints and, indeed, among shin hanga prints in general. It believed to be the first moga (modern girl) woodblock print and depicts taxi dancers at a trendy Shanghai hotel café. Displaying all the classic emblems of the moga, Koka’s women wear fashionable Western-style clothes of the Roaring Twenties, sport bobbed hair, makeup, and jewelry, and are enjoying cocktails. Although the precise ethnicity of the dancers is unclear, Shanghai had a large influx of White Russian refugees in 1922 after the Russian Civil War and it is well-documented that many such Russian women became taxi dancers in Shanghai’s famous cafés and nightclubs.

Koka employs bright, vivid colors to illustrate a nightlife scene full of gin, jazz, and carnal abandon. The woman’s fan is richly printed with a gold metallic, and its presence and the cut of the women’s clothes suggest that it is a hot summer evening. The background is also covered in a thin layer of shimmering mica, which further adds to the richness of the print while simultaneously conveying images of figures dancing in a cloud of cigarette smoke and bright lights.

Until recently this print had been erroneously known as ‘Dancing at the New Carlton Hotel in Shanghai’– a hotel which apparently did not exist. In Seven Masters, Marks identifies the location as the Carlton Cafe, as well as illustrates an image of a painting (whereabouts unknown) of the same subject which Koka had exhibited at the 10th Japan Art Institute Experiments Exhibition in March 1924, and again at the Osaka City Art Association’s first exhibition in May of the same year.

References:
Amy Newland and Chris Uhlenbeck, Ukiyo-e to Shin Hanga, 1990, p. 223
Kendall H. Brown, Light in Darkness: Women in Japanese Prints of Early Showa (1926-1945), 1996. p. 67, cat. no. 74
Amy Reigle Newland, and Hamanaka Shinji, The Female Image: 20th Century Prints of Japanese Beauties, 2000, p. 91, no. 115
Amy Reigle Newland, gen. ed., Printed to Perfection: Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 2004, p. 85, no. 70
Koyama Shuko, Beautiful Shin Hanga- Revitalization of Ukiyo-e, Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum, 2009, p. 104, no. 3-5
Chris Uhlenbeck, Broad Strokes and Fine Lines: The Dual Tradition in 20th Century Japanese Printmaking, Nihon no hanga, Amsterdam, 2009 (cover)
Allen Hockley, ed., The Women of Shin Hanga: The Judith and Joseph Barker Collection of Japanese Prints, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 2013, pp. 190-191, no. 44
Andreas Marks, Seven Masters: 20th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Wells Collection, 2015, pp. 70-71, fig. 8 (print), fig. 9 (postcard of missing painting), pp. 207-213 (on print publishing)
Marije Jansen, Japan: Modern, Japanese Prints from the Elise Wessels Collection, 2016, p. 104; cat. no. 104
Ukiyo-e modern: Shinsui no bijin, Hasui no fukei, soshite…), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, 2018, p 153, no. 272
Abe Shuichi, Prints of Japanese Beauties in the 20th Century, 2022, p. 90, no. 131
(inv. no. 10-6323)

$25,000 (RESERVED)

Scholten Japanese Art

Ito Shinsui

1898-1972

Eight Views of Omi: Ishiyamadera Temple
(Omi hakkei no uchi: Ishiyamadera)

Signed, dated and titled at lower left corner, Omi hakkei no uchi Ishiyamadera Taisho rokunen junigatsu Shinsui (Eight views of Omi, Ishiyamadera, Taisho 6 [1917], December, Shinsui), with limited edition publisher’s seal on verso, Ito Shinsui ga, Omi hakkei Ishiyama, shusatsu nihyaku mai kagiri no uchi dai jukyu ban (picture by Ito Shinsui, Eight Views of Omi Ishiyama, limited edition of 200, no. 19), with publisher’s seals, hanmoto (publisher), and Watanabe, 1917

aiban tate-e 12 5/8 by 8 1/2 in., 32 by 21.6 cm

With the exception of the first print he published with Watanabe in 1916, Before the Mirror (Taikyo), which was based on a painting, in the early years of their collaboration, Shinsui worked in the old style of print production, submitting a hanashita (preparatory drawing) or sketch which was used to make a keyblock. In the introduction to the catalogue raisonné, Ito Shinsui: All the Woodblock Prints, Watanabe Shozaburo’s son Tadasu describes the cooperation between artist and publisher, recounting how Shinsui was eager to utilize printing techniques to bring out his design, and Watanabe’s role of pushing the printers to improve the prints with their own skills (pp. 6-11).

References:
Kato Junzo, comp., Kindai Nihon hanga taikei, 1975-76, 1975-76, Vol. 1, pl. 173
Tadasu Watanabe, Ito Shinsui: All the Woodblock Prints, 1992, pp. 6-11; and p. 35, pl. 15
Amy Reigle Stephens, gen. ed., The New Wave: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 1993, p. 185, pl. 238
Amy Reigle Newland, ed., Printed to Perfection: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 2004, p. 108 pl. 97
Koyama Shuko, Beautiful Shin Hanga- Revitalization of Ukiyo-e, Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum, 2009, p. 070, no. 2-35
Andreas Marks, Seven Masters: 20th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Wells Collection, 2015, p. 108 cat. no. 53
Ukiyo-e modern: Shinsui no bijin, Hasui no fukei, soshite…), Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts, 2018, p. 60, no. 91

(inv. no. 10-6181)

$9,200

Scholten Japanese Art

Hiroshi Yoshida

1876-1950

Kumoi Cherry Tree
(Kumoizakura)

Signed in sumi ink, Yoshida, with red artist’s seal Hiroshi, and jizuri (self-printed) seal on left margin, followed by the date, Taisho jugonen saku (made in Taisho 15 [1926]), followed by the title, Kumoizakura, with English title in pencil on the bottom margin, Kumoi cherry trees, and pencil signature Hiroshi Yoshida, with carver’s seal of Maeda Yujiro (1889-1957), ca. 1926

Print: 23 by 29 1/8 in., 58.5 by 74 cm
Frame: 29 3/8 by 35 3/8 in., 74.5 by 90 cm

This print from 1926 is based on a large watercolor painting, Memories of Japan (71 by 94 cm.), which was first exhibited at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1899 and purchased shortly thereafter by the museum through a special public subscription which raised an impressive $500 for the acquisition, the equivalent of at least $20,000 today. The subject portrays the daughters of the artist Kawai Shinzo (1867-1936) underneath a famous cherry tree known as Kumoizaki (Kumoi Cherry Tree) which was located in the scenic area of Yoshino in Nara. Yoshida may have been inspired by a similarly composed image of the tree found in volume 8 of Miyoshi no maki (Miyoshi’s Scroll [or album]) of black and white photographs published in 1898 by the pioneering photographer, Mitsumura Toshimo (1877-1955). Some 27 years after Yoshida sold the painting to the museum he revisited the subject and adapted it for a large format print, simplifying the composition slightly by reducing the number of figures from five to two and removing foliage and grasses from the foreground.

Of the 257 prints that Yoshida produced in his lifetime, only eight were as oversized as the grand scale of this ambitious work which measures nearly 30 inches wide. In order to produce such an unusually large woodblock print, Yoshida divided the composition into three separate sections- a technical feat which is impossible to detect on the end result. During the printing process block alignment (difficult enough with standard oban sized prints) was maintained by three printers working together to handle the large sheets of paper. The strength and stamina required to print across the broad surface necessitated that printers worked in shifts that changed every five sheets. Given the printing challenges it is not surprising Dorothy Blair records in the 1930 Toledo Museum of Art exhibition catalogue that Yoshida produced only 50 impressions of this monumental print.

The gradation of color in the background on this impression, with pale pink along the horizon and a very pale blue sky darkening to pale grey at the top, compares closely with the mood of the original watercolor and the impression in the collection of the Fukuoka Museum of Art. In an interesting contrast, the impression included in the 1930 Toledo exhibition has more saturated blue in the sky, which seems to be a deliberate adjustment by Yoshida and his printers. One should note that both have retained pink in the cherry blossoms, and as such, the differences in the coloration of the sky is not a result of fading (and the hue of blue untilized is generally a very stable pigment). It is more likely that the alternate coloration on the Toledo version may have been selected or even produced specifically to appeal to the perceived American taste for brighter colors, as several other works by various artists included in the show are found to display much more intense variant palettes than earlier known impressions. Taking those differences into consideration, this impression, arguably more in tune with Japanese aesthetics, was likely produced earlier than the example in Toledo, presumably at the original time of production in 1926.

References:
Mitsumura Toshimo, Miyoshi no maki: vol. 8, Tabi no iezuto, Mitsumura Shashinbu (Mitsumura Photography Company), 1898, image no. 5 (Kumoizakura, photograph)
Dorothy Blair, A Special Exhibition of Modern Japanese Prints, Toledo Museum of Art, 1930, cat. no. 298
Ogura Tadao, Yoshida Hiroshi zenhangashu (The Complete Woodblock Prints of Hiroshi Yoshida), 1987, p. 80, no. 76
Yoshida Hiroshi: Woodblock Print Exhibition, Kushigata Shunsen Museum of Art, 1994, cat. no. 62
Hiroshi Yoshida Exhibition: A Master of Modern Landscape Painting, Fukuoka Museum, 1996, p. 138, no. 119
Yoshida Hiroshi Exhibition, MOA Museum of Art, 2000, p. 73, no. 93
A Japanese Legacy: Four Generations of Yoshida Family Artists, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2002, cat. no. 3 Memories of Japan watercolor, cat. no. 15 Kumoi Cherry Trees print from Fukuoka Museum of Art
Carolyn M. Putney, et. al., Fresh Impressions: Early Modern Japanese Prints, Toledo Museum of Art, 2013, p. 296, cat. 305
Yoshida Hiroshi: A Retrospective, Chiba City Museum of Art, 2016, p. 178, no. 4-77

(inv. no. C-3699)