Catalog: Vintage Arts: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese (780)

Ohara Koson (Shoson)
Redstarts on Flowering Cherry Branch
Size: O-tanzaku. 13.5 x 7.25 inches.
Date: 1910s
Koson signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Daikokuya.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: K26.5 in Koson catalog.
Condition: Top back corners have paper residue.
- This print features lovely woodgrain.

Jinbo Tomoyo (1902-1994)
Pensive Girl
Date: 1939.
Size: 16.5 x 11.25 inches.
Edition: First and only.
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Edition: 56 of 100. Hand numbered in Japanese on back beside one hundred limitation seal.
Artist's red seal on back with date and seals of carver (Ishizaka Kenichi) and printer (Nakamura Sanjiro).
Mica highlights on hair ornaments.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Abrasion at index finger area...

Ohara Koson
A white-fronted goose flying in front of a full moon, reeds below
Size: O-tanzaku. Approximately 14.5 x 7.5 inches.
Date: ca. 1900s-1923.
Bears Koson signature and seal.
Publisher: Daikokuya (132)
Reference: K11.16 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Excellent. Pencil number on back.
Provenance: The Bedford, NY estate of Eleanor Jay and Arthur Iselin...

Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968)
White Cat
Date: 1929
Signed by the artist in the image in English and Japanese.
Matte size: 23.25 x 19.375 inches. Matte window: 17.5 x 12.75 inches.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print with gauffrage embossing on the cat (seen in indirect light).
Condition: Woodblock print is sealed inside matte and is possibly adhered to board. Some creasing visible in side lighting.

Hiroshi Yoshida
Tansui (Danshui, China)
Date: 1941.
Print size: Chuban. 10.625 x 8 inches.
Brush signed and sealed in the image. Titled and signed in pencil in lower margin.
Jizuri seal at upper left margin indicating a first edition self-printed by the artist.
Publisher: Hiroshi Yoshida
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Abe catalog #244.
Condition: Some toning and fading. Tape at top back margin.

Takahashi Shotei (1871-1945)
Nihonmatsu
Date: pre-1923.
Size: Mitsugiri-ban. Approximately 14.875 x 6.5 inches.
Shotei's Kakei seal at lower right.
Number 352 in japanese on the verso.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: M-144 in Shotei catalog.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Note: Blocks destroyed in 1923 earthquake.
Condition: Two lighter areas in upper sky from previous mounting.

Kawase Hasui
Mount Fuji, Narusawa
Date: 1936.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Round, lightly applied black 6mm Watanabe seal faintly in lower left corner, indicating a lifetime edition printed between 1946-1957.
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.

Kobayashi Kiyochika
Dawn at Ryogoku Hyappongui, Tokyo
From the series, Famous Places of Tokyo (Tokyo Meisho).
Date: 1879.
Signed by the artist at lower right.
Publisher: Fukuda Kumajiro.
Size: Oban. Approximately 14.25 x 9.75 inches.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Missing some margin. Frayed areas of the margin have been repaired by a conservator. Excellent color.

Shotei Takahashi (Hiroaki) (1871-1945)
The Pond of Senzoku
Date: Pre-1923.
Size: Mitsugiriban. 15 x 6.75 inches.
Shotei seal at left.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: M-108 in Shotei catalog. Watanabe #684. Ota-ku 2005 Catalog #62.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Two pieces of tape at back margin. Light toning. Fray at top left margin...

Elizabeth Keith (1887-1956)
Noh Actor Shigeyama in Green Costume
Date: 1935-36.
Size: Approximately 19.5 x 13.25 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Signed "Elizabeth Keith" in pencil.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Notch in lower margin. Tape residue at left, bottom left, and top back margins.

Hiroshi Yoshida
Chion-in Temple Gate
Series: Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms.
Date: 1935.
Print size: Oban. 16 x 10.75 inches.
Brush signed and sealed in the image. Titled and signed in pencil in lower margin.
Jizuri seal at upper left margin indicating a first edition self-printed by the artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Publisher: Hiroshi Yoshida
Reference: Abe catalog #194.
Condition: Two short scratches in stairs (see photo)...

Bertha Boynton Lum (1869-1954)
Junks Wei-Hai-Wei
Date: 1922
Size: 9.5 x 4.5 inches.
Pencil signed and copyrighted 1923 by the artist.
Edition: "44" noted at lower right.
Reference: Gravalos/Pulin No. 63.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Toned paper areas primarily in margin.

Kawase Hasui
Clearing After a Snowfall on Mt. Fuji (Tagonoura). (Fuji no Yukibare, Tagonoura)
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1932. This edition 1950-62.
Publisher: Doi Hangaten. Carver: Harada. Printer: Yokoi.
Doi watermark in upper left margin corner.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Hotei #266.
Condition: Slight fading.

Toko Shinoda (1913-2021)
Title: Discovery
Size: Approximately 14.125 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1980s or earlier.
Edition: 33/35.
Medium: Lithograph with red and black sumi-e brushstrokes.
Condition: Slight toning to former matte edge.

Joichi Hoshi (1911-1979)
Great Tree (Small)
Date: 1975.
Edition: 15/60.
Sheet Size: 9.25 x 6.5 inches.
Image size: 7.25 x 5 inches.
Signed, dated, and numbered by the artist in pencil.
Notes: Yellows, blues and greens in the tree with gold leaf metallics on silvery background. Frequently seen in unlimited edition, here is a rarely encountered numbered example.
Condition: Matte line in margin. Tape residue on back. Foxing in margin and on back.

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.

Hiroshi Yoshida
Hirosaki Castle
Series: Eight Scenes of Cherry Blossoms
Date: 1935.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.5 inches.
Signed and sealed in the image. Titled and signed in pencil.
Jizuri seal at upper left margin indicating a first edition self-printed by the artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: Abe catalog #192.
Condition: Pencil note at top margin. Paper lightly toned.

Kawase Hasui
Dawn Over Lake Shoji
Size: Approximately 8.75 x 7 inches.
Date: 1935. First and only edition.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo for a calendar commissioned by Japan Government Railways. Please see the included original Japanese Government Railways tag.
Reference: Hotei #370.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margins trimmed...

Ohara Hoson (Koson)
Carp jumping for insect, wisteria above
Size: Oban. Approximately 14.625 x 10.75 inches.
Date: 1931.
Publisher: Kawaguchi and Sakai. Publisher's seal in right margin...

Kawase Hasui
Spring Rain at Gokokuji
Size: Oban. Approximately 16 x 10.75 inches.
Date: 1932.
This edition 1948-50.
Publisher: Doi Hangaten. Carver: Katsumura (same carver as first edition). Printer: Ito.
Doi publisher's watermark at upper left corner margin.
Artist's signature and seal at upper right.
Condition: A surface dot on the base of the lantern. A few light margin creases...

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Dancing Girls Enjoying Cool Breeze On River Kamo
Date: 1919.
Size: Approximately 7 x 4.5 inches.
Hasui signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Yoshusha.
Edition: First.
This marginless print was issued as seen here tipped along its top edge into the 1919 first edition book, "Sights of Old Capital" by Aisaburo Akiyama...

Hiroshi Yoshida
Horse Turnback (Umagaeshi)
Series: Ten Views of Mt. Fuji
Date: 1928.
Size: Oban. Approximately 16.25 x 10.5 inches.
Signed and sealed in the image and lower margin.
Jizuri seal at upper left margin indicating self-printing by the artist.
Published by the artist.
Reference: Abe #52.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margin has light toning and creasing.

Shotei Takahashi (Hiroaki) (1871-1945)
Ferry at Takeya, Mukojima
Date: Pre-1917.
Numbered edition: Numbered "44" in Japanese inside fan cartouche at lower right corner.
Size: 13.625 x 6.875 inches.
Shotei seal at right.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: M-153 in Shotei catalog.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Marks...

Ohara Shoson (Koson)
Snow on Willow Bridge
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1927.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. With Watanabe C seal (Used 1929-42).
Shoson signature and seal.
Reference: S44.3 and image #166 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: A conservator has repaired top margin blanks and tears. One had impinged on the image...

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
Fireworks at Ryogoku
Size: Mitsugiriban. 14.875 x 6.625 inches.
Date: pre-1936.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: Shotei catalog M-51.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print. Attached at top edge only to original card.
Condition: A little waviness at lower right. Slight fading.
Provenance: Dedication on back reads, "With best of wishes from (Rabbi) Jacob J...

Ohara Koson
Peafowl on flowering cherry
Size: O-tanzaku. Approximately 14.5 x 7.5 inches.
Date: ca. 1900s-1923.
Bears Koson seal.
Publisher: Daikokuya (97)
Reference: K38.13 and plate 87 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Excellent. A few small black marks in sky at left and above bird. Pencil number on back.
Provenance: The Bedford, NY estate of Eleanor Jay and Arthur Iselin. Eleanor Jay was a de...

Ohara Koson
Peacock on a bough of a pine tree, a peahen behind
Size: O-tanzaku. Approximately 14.5 x 7.5 inches.
Date: ca. 1900s-1923.
Bears Koson signature seal.
Publisher: Daikokuya (6)
Reference: K38.17 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Excellent. Black mark at top margin and in sky at lower right.
Provenance: The Bedford, NY estate of Eleanor Jay and Arthur Iselin. Eleanor Jay was a descendan...

Hasui Kawase
Kasuga Shrine, Nara
Series: Collection of Scenic Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition.
Size: Oban. 15.375 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1933
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Publisher's 6mm seal (printed 1946-1957).
Reference: Hotei #317.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Slight toning. Excellent color.

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. We believ...

Hiroshi Yoshida
Glittering Sea, from The Inland Sea Series
(Hikaru Umi, Setonaikaishu)
Date: 1926. Date of this edition not known.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print mounted as kakejiku scroll.
Signed and sealed in the image.
Size: Oban. Scroll: 45.5 inches 17.75 inches. Blue sheet: 20.5 x 15.75. Visible image: 14.5 x 9.75 inches.
Condition: Creasing from scrolling.
Note: Scroll mounting over the margins prevents us from confirming the presence or absence of...

Joichi Hoshi (1911-1979)
Field
Size: 32 inches by 17.25 inches.
Date: 1974.
Edition: 63/99
Signed, dated, and numbered by the artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print on gold leaf.
Condition: Light toning at margin. Back margin has tape residue and one reinforced corner.
Note: Please see additional images for texture and metallics.

Ohara Koson (Shoson)
Mallards and Lotus
Size: Large toku-oban. Approximately 17.125 x 12.25 inches.
Date: pre-1936. First edition.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. First and only edition with Watanabe D seal in right margin.
Shoson signature and seal lower right.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: S7.1 aand cat. 145 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland). Watanabe cat. #O-51.
Condition: Excellent with full...

Paul Jacoulet
La Gerbe D'Anthurium, Angur, Mer du Sud (The Spray of Anthurium Flowers, Angur, South Seas)
Date: July 15, 1951.
Fewer than 150 impressions made. This example has no edition seal visible. Jacoulet's fancy PJ seal is covering another seal on the back.
Size: 18.625 x 14 inches.
Ivy seal. Carver: Maeda. Printer: Honda.
Reference: No. 118 in The Prints of Paul Jacoulet by Richard Miles.
Condition: Excellent color. Light creasing in margins. Top back ...

Bertha Boynton Lum (1869-1954)
Kites
Date: 1912
Size: 14.375 x 8 inches.
Pencil signed and copyrighted 1913 by the artist.
Edition: "197" noted at lower right.
Reference: Gravalos/Pulin No. 29.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Wrinkle in lower margin. Paper at a back margin.
"..the wind fills them up till they look like fish" - Bertha Lum: American Printmakers, (Smithsonian)

Charles W. Bartlett
Title: Kobe
Date: 1915
Board size: 12 x 8.75 inches. Image size: 10.75 x 7.25 inches.
Medium: Watercolor on paper.
Signed "C.W.B", titled, dated, and dedicated in pencil.
Condition: Painting is laid down to board. Paper toned in places.
Note: As signed, the work was painted in 1915, the year Bartlett arrived in Japan, and was subsequently presented as a Christmas gift in 1936.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Snow at Shiba Park (Shiba Koen no Yuki)
Date: 1931
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Edition: First. Watanabe B seal (used 1927-32) in right margin.
Reference: Hotei #244.
Condition: Formerly matted with some tonal difference primarily near lower margin. One foxing mark in lower foreground.
Note: This famous Hasui design was also used later in a 1953 Pacific Transport Lines calendar.

Hiroshige Ando
Suidobashi, Surugadai (Suido Bridge and Surugadai)
Series: No. 48 from Meisho Edo Hyakkei (One Hundred Famous Views of Edo)
Date: Intercalary 5th month, 1857.
Size: Oban 14 x 9.75 inches.
Publisher: Uoya Eikichi.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margin blanks and tears repaired by conservator. Soiling.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Moon at Magome
Date: 1930.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.5 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Watanabe C (sausage) seal at right margin, making this a first edition produced between 1929-1942.
Reference: Hotei #165.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Point-sized repair in upper left corner of sky. Original drying pinhole at left margin covered with paper.
"The scene conveys the rustic 'poetic' charm of Ma...

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.

Hiroshige Ando
Seven Ri Ferry Boat Approaching Kuwana
Publisher: Takemura Hideo. Bears round Takemura seal.
Date: 1930s. Collected after WWII but very likely from Takemura's pre-war stock.
Size: 5.5 x 3.5 inches.
Tipped at top to original greeting card.
Condition: Very good. Card discolored with hole at back cover.

Rain at Shinobazu Pond
Sealed "S". Artist unidentified.
Date: ca. 1940s.
Print size: 3.75 x 2.75 inches.
Publisher: Unsodo. From a group included in an Unsodo client sample book.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print attached along top edge only to original holiday card.
Condition: Tiny dot in sky.

Ito Jakuchu
Flying Bird and Flower
Date: 1930s or earlier.
Size: 4.25 x 3 inches.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margin corner thinning or chips.

Tomoe (after Hasui)
Rainy Street Scene
(This smaller unsealed print is clearly based on "City in the Rain" by Kawase Hasui).
Date: 1950s-60s.
Size: 5.5 x 3.625 inches
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print attached along its top edge only to original blank card (7 x 4.625 inches).
Condition: Excellent.

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
Onward to the Sea-gall
Date: 1939-40
Publisher: Shobido Tanaka
Shotei.com no. ST-40.
Globe's Catalog No: C-562
Size: 6.0 x 4.0 inches.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Very good.

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.

Artist: Unidentified
Title: Miyajima
Print size: Approximately 5.75 x 3.75 inches.
Date: 1950s-60s
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Top margin edge slightly toned.

Ito Takashi
Mt. Fuji from Yamanaka
Date: 1952.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Artist's signature at lower left.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Tsuchiya Koitsu
Yotsuya
Publisher: Doi Hangaten (Doi seal).
Date: 1930s-1950s.
Print size: Approximately 3.75 x 2.5 inches.
Koitsu catalog no.: TK-DH-205.
Woodblock print tipped along top edge to original, unused 5 x 3 inch holiday card.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Goats at Sunset Artist: Seal not read.
Date: Early twentieth century.
Size: 5.5 x 3.5 inches.
Publisher: Shmbi Shoin.
Medium: Japanese woodblcock print.
Condition: Excellent. Sent by Shozo Nakamura to Dr. and Mrs. Dr. Dawson.

Tsuchiya Koitsu
Nikko
Date: 1937
Size: 5.75 x 3.75 inches.
Publisher: Doi Hangaten (seal lower left).
Koitsu seal and title at lower right.
Reference: Koitsu catalogue TK-DH-122.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Some fading. Paper residue at top back corners. Fox spot at top margin.
Note: We know this example to be early as it was acquired along with a heretofore unknown Koitsu design.

Takahashi Shotei
Red temple in rain; priest over the steps
Date: ca. 1920s-30s.
Size: 5.75 x 3.5 inches
Reference: S-7 in Shotei catalog.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.
Compare with our Shotei127.

Kawase Hasui
Chuzenji Lake, Nikko
Date: 1930s. This edition early postwar.
Size: Approximately 5.625 x 3.625 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Not sealed by artist. Sealed examples exist.
Print is tipped along its top edge to an original card.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Hiroshige Ando
Fisher and Fire
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo
Date: 1930s.
Size: 6 x 4.125 inches.
Signature and seal at lower right.
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Condition: Excellent.

Kawase Hasui
Kinkakuji
Date: 1930s. This edition 1950s-60s.
Print size: Approximately 5.625 x 3.75 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Not sealed by the artist. Sealed versions exist.
This example may have been re-carved by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print tipped along its top edge to a 7 x 4.625-inch blank card.
Condition: Upper left corner has light crease.

Kawase Hasui
Title: Zojoji Temple
Date: 1950s-60s.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Print size: Approximately 5.5 x 3.5 inches.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print tipped along its top edge to an original blank card.
Condition: Excellent.
Note: Not sealed by the artist. We've encountered a sealed late twentieth century example. Please see our last photo. This Zojoji design is very similar to a well-known 1930s Hasui print.

Tsuchiya Koitsu
Yaizugahara
Date: 1937
Size: Approximately 5.75 x 3.75 inches.
Publisher: Doi
Reference: Koitsu catalog TK-DH-113.
Bears the Koitsu seal and the Doi seal.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Ohara Shoson (Koson)
Two seated and three plowers in flight near the seaside, a full moon above.
Date: 1930s.
Paper size: Approximately 5.0 x 3.25 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Bears the Shoson seal.
Reference: S22.2 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Excellent.
A rarely seen design.

Aoki Seiko (b. 1880)
Red Berries and Birds (aka. Waxwings)
Size: Approximately 9.75 x 4.75 inches (24.9 x 12 cm).
Date: ca. 1910.
Publisher: Matsumoto Print Works. Cat. #368 tags on back.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Upper left corner margin chip. Pinhole near signature.
- Rarely seen.
The Matsumoto catalog identifies the birds as kashidori, "a noisy, quarrelsome species of jay."

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)(1871-1945)
Country House After Snow
Print size: Approximately 4.0 x 2.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Shotei's Rakutei seal at lower left.
Date: Pre-1936.
Reference: Shotei catalog #S-47.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print tipped along its top edge to a signed holiday card.
Condition: Excellent.

Takahashi Shotei
Moon Under a Bridge at Hakozaki
Size: Approximately 7.5 x 5.25 inches.
Shotei's Rakutei seal at left.
Date: pre-1936.
Reference: S-49 in Shotei catalog.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Wear on bridge wall. Back has a a few foxing spots and pencil note.