4 June – 23 June 2024

A prolific designer of triptychs, Chikanobu’s favourite subjects were histories from Japan's past and genre scenes with women and children. His best known series are images, concentrating on the history and traditional values of old Japan.

From the series, Mirror of the Ages (jidai kagami),
a beauty sporting a hairstyle of the Meiji era. Inset above; a couple enjoying the plum tree nicknamed, Gary-bai (reclining dragon)

published by Matsuki Heikichi, 1896 – 97

35.2 x 23.8 cm

$ 990

From the series, Mirror of the Ages (jidai kagami), a beauty holding a shamisen and sporting a hairstyle of the Kan’eii era (1624-44) Inset above; attendants shielding a mother and her infant from the fierce sun

published by Matsuki Heikichi, 1896 – 97

35.2 x 23.8 cm

$ 990

From the series, The True Beauties, number 24, Beauty in the Wind gathering clams

published by Akiyama Buemon, 1897

37 x 24.8 cm

$ 1100

Considered one the last ukiyo-e masters, Kunichika’s designs are drawn from established ukiyo-e genres, ranging from actor prints, sumo wrestlers and prints of beautiful women.

From the series, Scenes of the twenty four hours parodied (Mitate choya nijuyoyi no uchi). Bishamonten Fair at 7pm

published Fukuda Kumajiro, 1891
36 x 24 cm

$ 990

Widely recognized as the last great master of the ukiyo-e genre of wood block printing, he is also regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. Renowned for his images of beauty and violence, he almost singlehandedly managed to push the traditional Japanese woodblock print to a new level, before it effectively died with him. His reputation has only continued to grow, both in the West, and among younger Japanese, and he is now almost universally recognized as the greatest Japanese artist of his era

From the series Tsuki hyakushi (One Hundred Aspects of the Moon), number 26, the Casia Tree Moon (Wu Gang). Wu Gang punished eternally to chop off the branches of the 10,000 feet high cassia trees on the moon, which instantly regrow.

published by Akiyama Buemon, 1885

colour woodblock print 36.5 x 24 cm framed

$ 2750

One of the great artists of the first half of the 20th Century, Kotondo excelled in the art of the beautiful women print. However, his output was very small (only 22) and the number of each image also small.

As with Goyo, with the permission of his heirs, small runs of a limited edition of his beauty prints were produced, in this case by the publisher Ishukankokai.

Beauty combing her hair

Signed, Kotondo, Seal, Kotondo. Publisher, Ishukankokai, Carver, Ito Susumu/Watanabe Yoshiaki

First published 1933, this edition published 1980s

$ 4400 framed

Asenegami, Twelve Aspects of Women".

The original print published in 1930s caused so much scandal that the government considered the print to be "not good for the public moral". The police confiscated the blocks and destroyed them after 70 impressions.

Originally published by Ikeda in 1932, this print was published by Ishu Kanko Kai in the 1980s.

55 x 40.5 cm

$ 4400 framed

SOLD

Sekka was an important artistic figure in early twentieth-century Japan. In 1901, he was sent by the Japanese government to Glasgow where he was heavily influenced by Art Nouveau. Returning to Japan, he taught at the newly opened Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts, experimented with Western tastes, styles, and methods, and incorporated them into his otherwise traditional Rinpa- style works which accentuate the flatness of the image surface and emphasise pattern and design.

Egret and Wheel

Eighty prints from the series World of Things (Momoyo-gusa) first published in three accordion style albums by Unsodo, 1909 Unsodo subsequently re-issued individual prints in 1993 using the original carved blocks.

34.2 x 49.5 cm

$ 2200 framed

Ohara Koson is considered by many to be the foremost 20th century designer of bird and flower prints, (kacho-e). His designs for a primarily Western market range from haunting realism to humorous depictions of animals at play. His prints continue to be appreciated as among the finest examples of animal and botanical portraits produced by the Shin-hanga (New Prints) movement.

Pheasant beside a waterfall

published by Daikokuya ca.1910

37 x 18.9 cm

$ 1200 framed

Night Heron

published by Daikokuya ca.1910

37 x 18.9 cm

$ 1200 framed

Rakusan was born in Kyoto and studied art under the great Kyoto artist, Seiho Takeuchi. He spent the two years between mid 1933 and mid 1935 producing two parallel series of woodblock prints: Koushisei Print Selection and 100 Birds and Flowers. His detailed and intricately coloured woodblock prints were sold by his studio before W.W.II until around 1948.

Thistle and Swallowtail butterfly

from the series Koushisei's Print Selections 1934 – 35

23.2 x 36.2 cm

$1100 framed

Grapes

This design is the eleventh of thirty-six woodblock prints in Rakusan's second main sequence series, Koushisei Gasen, lit. 'Koushisei's Print Selection'

Self published, 1934 - 41

25 x 38.4 cm

$1100 framed

Born in 1937 in Osaka, Tadashi Osaka studied architecture and later art under Fumio Kitaoka and Waichi Hayashi. A member of Shunyo-kai Art Society and a frequent participant In the prestigious annual CWAJ (College Women of Japan) Print Show, the major exhibition event in the world of art prints in Japan.

Yuki no Machi (Snow Town)

1981 A/P

woodblock print, 48 x 52.8 cm

$ 1100 framed

Kawarazaki Shodo, born in 1889, was a painter and print designer specializing in floral subjects from Kyoto. He was associated with the publisher Unsodo, which has continued its operations to the present day. The majority of his woodblock prints were produced in the 1950s, driven by a heightened demand for handmade Japanese woodblock prints from the American occupation forces

Irises

Published by Unsodo, ca 1957

41 x 33.5 cm

$ 750 framed

Red Camelias

published by Unsodo, ca. 1950

41 x 33.5 cm

$ 750 framed

Ryohei Tanaka is world renowned for his intricate black and white etchings of rural Japan. Born in Takatsuki City outside of Osaka, Ryohei began his career studying etching under Professor Yoshio Furuno in 1963. One year later, he became a member of the Kyoto Etchers Group. In 1966, he began exhibiting with the Japan Print Association and became a full member in 1973. Ryohei won numerous awards in Japan, Europe and the United States. He is best known for his black and white etchings. Ryohei Tanaka did not imagine his compositions, but drew from reality, basing his work on sketches of the Japanese countryside. His prints are widely collected and can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Cedar: Kyoto #40, Kitayama Sugi, Nakagawa

Copperplate etching with aquatint. Kitayama Sugi is a type of cedar which grows in Nakagawa and is prized for its vertical growth pattern & used for building tea rooms and tea houses.

Ed. 30/150, 2007

33 x 24 cm

$ 1100

Kyoto 17. A Canal

Copperplate etching with aquatint,

Ed. 94/150, 1997

26 x304 cm

$ 1100

Kasamatsu created many works across a wide range of genres, including portraits, landscapes, and animal paintings, from the early Showa era through to the post-war period. His works are characterized by his unique sense of colour and impressive composition, often featuring landscapes.

While Kasamatsu inherited traditional woodblock printing techniques, he also created experimental works using new techniques and materials. His works have been particularly well-received in the United States and are held in many art museums and private collections.

Glow at Dusk in Jyoshu Minakami, Gunma Prefecture

published by Unsodo, 1958

36.5 x 24.2 cm

$ 990

SOLD

Okuyama Gihachiro, a Japanese artist and printmaker, shared a commonality with American pop art icons like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. He navigated both commercial arts and the realm of fine arts simultaneously. Remarkably, Gihachiro crafted woodblock prints encompassing two distinct art movements: sosaku hanga and shin hanga.

Shimoda Port in Rain

published in 1950

20.32 x 35.56 cm

$ 1250

Born in 1945 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, he began studying woodblock printing with Mikumo publishing house in Kyoto at the age of 19. Early in his career he experimented with stencil dyeing and various forms of printing before focusing on woodblock printmaking in the Sosaku Hanga or “creative print” style. His work portrays a romantic, traditional vision of Japan: old buildings with umbrellas, rain, snow and wind. His mastery of intriguing angles and the intricate play of light and colour in his work distinguish Nishijima among Japanese contemporary woodblock print artists.

Morning at the Lake

Self published

Ed 12/500,

23.4 x 38 cm

$ 1500