Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)(川瀬 巴水) - Higashi Agano, Saitama. A tea plantation.

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)(川瀬 巴水) - Higashi Agano, Saitama. A tea plantation.

Bushu (Saitama) Higashi Agano, watercolor, preparatory work for woodblock print published 1941.

See Kendall H. Brown - Kawase Hasui, The Complete Woodblock Prints, 2003, Amsterdam, Vol. 2, p. 521, pl. 456.

Most of Hasui's prints seem to be based on atmospheric and beautiful watercolours. These were most probably done on location however this needs more research. There exists pencil drawings in sketchbooks, which seems to be preparatory sketches either for the watercolours and/or the prints; again it is very difficult to say if these are done on the actual location. The creative process of Hasui seems shrouded in mystery, and at the moment is most anecdotal in nature and very little is known by substantiated facts. Many of the watercolours seems to have been done within a year or two of the print, however in some cases there seems to have been decades between the original work and the print version.

His watercolours are highly sought after both by Japanese institutions and collectors as well as their Western counter parts.

In the present painting Hasui uses an almost pointillistic technique in applying the watercolours. This is especially noticeable on the tea bushes were this technique helps to render depth and three dimensionality as well as well depicting the foliage the tea bushes in a natural way.

Medium: Watercolour on Japanese watercolour paper.
Signed: Hasui, sealed Kawase.
Condition: Fine color condition, unfaded. The paper is very slightly toned, a bit more towards the edges, especially along the extreme end of the deckle edges.
Size: The present watercolour is done on a daioban-sized paper. 55.6 x 40.5 cm.
Provenance: Private collection, Japan.

Illustrated: Mitsuba Museum of Showa Women University, Exhibition of prints by Kawase Hasui, a landscape printmaker loved by the world. Tokyo, 1997.

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Kawase Hasui in Wikipedia

Hashiguchi Goyō (1880-1921)(橋口五葉) - Service information brochure "Japan to London and Antwerp"

Hashiguchi Goyō (1880-1921)(橋口五葉) - Service information brochure "Japan to London and Antwerp"

Service information brochure "Japan to London and Antwerp". The brochure gives the names of agents for NYK in different countries. Conditions of passage. Distances between ports of call. Deck plans and so on. In the passenger tariff we can find a first class ticket from London to Yokohama is £60, a second class £41. If you want to upgrade to cabin #31 (the best on the boat) and traveling alone, you have to pay a 65% surcharge on your first class ticket. A "Round the World" ticket with NYK Lines would have cost you $ 510 (US Gold) (Esq. £102) if you went via New York, if instead you prefer to go via Montreal you would have saved US Gold $ 10.

Sealed: Go, on the front cover
Condition: Very good. The usual centerfold, short tear front cover right margin, center spread loose on one staple, staples slightly rusty.
Published: Nippon Yusen Kaisha.
Printer: Tokyo Printing Company.
Date: July, 1913.
Edition: 6000 copies.
Today very scarce. This is the first copy of this brochure we have handeled.

Another example is published in Hashiguchi Goyo Ten (Exhibition of Hashiguchi Goyo), Odakyu, Tokyo, 1995, p.230, ill.360.

The front cover by Hashiguchi Goyo, Lithographed by pen and brush. Probably lithographed by Goyo himself. The work is not by a professional lithographer but at the same time the line shows brilliant artistic sense, which would indicate Goyo is responsible for the lithographing.


$575

What I understand from speaking with people who traveled with the great liners in the 20s and 30s, this type of deluxe leaflet was handed over to the passenger at the actual purchase of the ticket. At least this seems to have been the case for the P&O line(Far East), the Cunard line to the US from London.


WebGoyo001

Hashiguchi Goyō (1880-1921)(橋口五葉) - A bijin looking at a bird in a cage.

Hashiguchi Goyō (1880-1921)(橋口五葉) - A bijin looking at a bird in a cage.

Kuchi-e for "Uguisu Kotoba" (Song of the bush warbler) (This is my own translation and should be taken with great caution.)

Signed: Sealed, reading "go" in kanji and a sketch of two leaves (yo).
Publisher: Juseido. Published in the magazine "Shin Fujin", 2nd year, 1st month.
Date: Meiji 45, 1st of January (1912).
Printer: Probably Toppan Printing Company.
Condition: Good, usual two fold marks, slight discolouration to flaps as usual, a few minor tears on margins, some slight foxing and discolouration, light creasing.
Impression: Fine, a rich and saturated impression.
Size: Roughly Oban sized, an over sized kuchi-e. 25.5 x 36.9 cm.
Very rare.

Another example is published in Hashiguchi Goyo Ten (Exhibition of Hashiguchi Goyo), Odakyu, Tokyo, 1995, p.214, ill. 327.

The technique for this kuchi-e is crayon lithograph. Judging the style and excellent technique of the lithograph work and the printing, the kuchi-e was most probably made by Toppan Printing Company. In 1910 Toppan introduced the best and most modern equipment available in the world. They quickly mastered the full potentials of the equipment. Toppan’s excellent lithographers managed to produced some of the best crayon lithographs ever done. This is seen especially in the works by Kitano Tsunetomi, but also Hashiguchi Goyo and many of the most famous artists of the period. Goyo made a poster for Mitsukoshi Department Store (at this time known as Mitsui Gofuku-ten). This poster became the most well known poster in Japan. The Goyo poster was a "Style" definer and widely collected. Today it is very scarce, even in very bad condition.

Goyo was together with the more well-known (in Japan) Sugiura Hisui the main designers for Gofukuten (Mitsukoshi). Most works done by them for Gofuku-ten are unsigned, sometimes one encounters Hisui’s signature mark on various works but it is very rare to find Goyo’s mark. Most often one has to relay on stylistic sensibility to separate their works.

This piece is with our paper conserver for slight conservation treatment. Delivery 14 days.

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WebGoyo002

Hashiguchi Goyo at Wikipedia