Ito Shinsui

Beauty Enjoying Summer Fireworks

1932

A beauty turns to admire the Kirifuri Waterfall in Nikko Province. She holds the handle of an umbrella and wears fashionable clothing that is beautifully printed. This series pairs f...

The boy Bôtarô watches his nurse Otsuji haul a bucket of water from the well. From the kabuki play Osanago no adauchi. Most interesting is the lush backdrop of lotus flowers and pump...

"Sun, Moon and Stars". Three beauties enjoy a full moon on the veranda of a teahouse or restuarant. The woman on the left kneels and adjusts her lavishly printed kimono. The beauty in the center has her hair down, and behind her is a screen against which shadows are beautifully silhouetted, which adds an air of mystery. The seated woman on the right is perhaps a geisha, as we see a shamisen lying next to her. Before her is a tray with an assortment of foods. One may surmise that the beauties are being compared to the sun, the moon, and the stars. On the left we glimpse a full moon shining over the peaceful bay, and boats at harbor. Original first edition Japanese color woodblock print triptych...

Shichirigahama, Sagami Province. A beauty in the foreground waves to her young companions, who run towards her on the beach. The beauty at left wears a western-style golden ring. We ...

“War Chronicles of Osaka” (Osaka gunki no uchi). Okubo Hikozaemon, raising his sword, protects the hidden Tokugawa shogun from the spear of Gorô Matabei Mototsugu in a moonlit fores...

A courtesan in Heian period style looks over the prow of her watercraft, looking ahead through the famous torii of Miyajima (Itsukushima) Shrine. She will be dancing in the ceremonies of the annual festival held in Itsukushima in the sixth month of the lunar calendar. Note the ukiyoe style of the beauty and the water, and the Shijo style of the rendering of the torii and the shore. Her enormous traveling hat and veil are placed beside her. From the series "One Hundred Famous Views of the Moon...

Hajime Namiki, 'Weeping Cherry 16 A', color woodblock print, 2012, edition 200. Signed in pencil with the artist’s red seal. Titled, dated, and numbered ...

Hokuto Tamamura (1893-1951), 'The Spirit of the Wine' (Shuten Dōji) - from Dai Chikamatsu Zenshu (The Complete Works of Chikamatsu)', color woodblock, 1923-26. Signed 'Hokuto'. A fin...

Paul Jacoulet, 'Une Histoire très Drôle, Mongols', color woodblock print, 1949. A fine impression, with fresh colors, on the artist's handmade, personally watermarked Japan paper, in...

Matsuno Sofu (1899-1963), 'Hagoromo - Noh', woodblock print, 1937. Signed 'Sofu' with the artist's seal, lower right. A fine impression, with fresh color...

Anonymous, Japanese Kimono Fabric Design, color woodcut, c. 1930. A superb impression, with fresh colors, fine graduations, and metallic gold motifs, on ...

Hiroshi Yoshida, 'Chion-in Temple Gate (Sunset)' from the series 'Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms (Sakura hachi dai: Sakura mon)', color woodblock print, 1935. Signed in brush 'Yoshida' and in pencil 'Hiroshi Yoshida'. A superb, early impression, with fresh colors; the full sheet with margins, on cream Japan paper; an area of slight toning in the top right sheet corner, not affecting the image, otherwise in excellent condition. Marked with a jizuri (self-printed) seal, upper left margin. Self-published by the artist. Image size 9 5/8 x 14 3/4 inches (444 x 375 mm); sheet size 10 7/8 x 16 inches (276 x 406 mm). Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Provenance: M. Nakazawa, Tokyo. Literature: Japanese Landscapes of the 20th century (Hotei Publishing calendar), 2001, May. Collections: Honolulu Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. ABOUT THE IMAGE Located in Kyoto, Chionin is the main temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism, one of the most popular Buddhist sects in Japan, having millions of followers. The Sanmon Gate, Chionin's entrance gate, standing 24 meters tall and 50 meters wide, it is the largest wooden temple gate in Japan and dates back to the early 1600s. Behind the gate, a wide set of stairs leads to the main temple grounds. ABOUT THE ARTIST Painter and printmaker Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the Japanese 'shin hanga' (New Print) movement. Yoshida was born as the second son of Ueda Tsukane in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, a schoolteacher from an old samurai family. In 1891 he was adopted by his art teacher Yoshida Kasaburo in Fukuoka and took his surname. In 1893 he went to Kyoto to study painting, and the following year to Tokyo to join Koyama Shotaro's Fudosha private school; he also became a member of the Meiji Fine Arts Society. These institutions taught and advocated Western-style painting, greatly influencing Yoshida’s artistic development. In 1899 Yoshida had his first American exhibition at Detroit Museum of Art (now Detroit Institute of Art), making the first of many visits to the US and Europe. In 1902 he helped reorganize the Meiji Fine Arts Society, renaming it the Taiheiyo-Gakai (Pacific Painting...