Shiro Kasamatsu Japanese Woodblock Shinobazu Pond Tokyo

Title: 霞む夕べ  -- 不忍池畔 --

Kasumu Yube  - Shinobazu Ike Han  [pronunciation in Japanese]

Hazy Evening at Shinobazu Pond

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Date (original 1^st issuing): 1932 [dated in the Spring of the 7^th year of Showa left margin]

Date (this particular edition): 1^st edition same as above [note the Watanabe E (Hotei catalog nomenclature) seal at bottom right margin]  

Medium: Japanese Woodblock on high quality mulberry (rice) paper 

Color: Multiple printed colors

Dimension: image (23.9 x 36.3 cm or 9 3/8 x 14 1/4 inch), paper (26.1 x 39.2 cm or 10 1/4 x 15 1/2 inch)

Credits: Kasamatsu Shiro (笠松紫浪 original artist), Watanabe Shozaburo (渡邊莊三郎 publisher)

Special Attributes: Artist block signed [笠松紫浪 left margin] and with his personal seal [Shiro] in red at bottom left corner, titled [as translated above], dated [昭和七年春 or Spring of 1932] left margin and with copyright seal of the publisher at bottom right margin.

Condition:

    This beautiful and traditional Japanese Woodblock print is in excellent condition (i.e., clear and clean image, strong and bright paper, vivid colors, original full margins (with deckle edges at top and left), no bend, no tear, and slight but even age toning). It was printed on high quality mulberry (rice) paper with a blank verso. The print is nearly flawless with some very minor stains on backside as shown by the detailed photo. Ample photos [front, back, and details] in high resolution are provided for your convenience of identification and judging its excellent quality independently.

Description:

      Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪1898 – 1992) was a highly skilled Japanese artist particularly known for his traditional woodblock prints of various Japanese sceneries published during the 30s to 50s.

      This relatively rare print entitled Misty evening at Shinobazu Pond was one of his most unusual and best known prints. The pond [located in Ueno Park of Tokyo] was a very popular subject and was depicted by many woodblock artists  over the years. But none so effectively conjured up the romantic air [as its name suggested] like Kasamatsu did here with its hazy blue, dim yellow lights, and a few figures in the distance. There are many anecdotes about the origin of its name. The one that I favor [and seems to be consistent with the image depicted here] is derived from the legend that when people meet there, it will be unbearable [ie., Shinobazu] for them to part each other. 

      Bearing the Watanabe unfriendly copyright warning [版權所有不許摸寫渡邊庄三郎, copyright possessed, duplication not allowed, Watanabe Shozaburo] E seal [according to Hotei catalog nomenclature or D seal according to other sources] that was only utilized between 1931 and 1941, it is thus one of the earliest specimens and properly designated as the 1^st edition.

      Please note the low starting price [e.g., trading at > 700 for the same item of lesser quality] with no reserve for this highly displayable collector’s item. Thanks for looking and Happy bidding!

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