Hiroaki Takahashi (Shotei) – Autumn moon at Tama river
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In the piece a ferry operator holds the boat on the shore with a lantern in the bow, while a woman trudges towards the boat laden with a basket on her back. The ferry is docked under a weeping willow tree, lining the shore of the Tama River. The silouettes of boats can be seen out on the water, a mist between the trees, hills, and mountains on the opposing shore, a full moon gracing the sky.
Description
I shall never get tired of looking at the moon tonight;
The mountains are bound together
Under the brilliant moonlight.
That poem graces a similar piece, Utagawa Hiroshige's Autumn Moon on the Tama River, a print by the same name as this one with a very similar composition, done nearly 100 years prior.
But that doesn't detract from the beauty of the piece, nor in its place in the portfolio of Shotei's 500+ artistic contributions. In the piece a ferry operator holds the boat on the shore with a lantern in the bow, while a woman trudges towards the boat laden with a basket on her back. The ferry is docked under a weeping willow tree, lining the shore of the Tama River. The silouettes of boats can be seen out on the water, a mist between the trees, hills, and mountains on the opposing shore, a full moon gracing the sky.
Comparable holding at the Freer|Sackler collection. Catalog number S-2, Watanabe 1936 catalog number 167.
The Woodblock Print
This print, measuring roughly 5"x7", is in very good condition. Excellent detail, strong colors, no signs of discoloration or fading. A very small and faint "Made in Japan" stamp in the lower margin on the verso. Minor residue of tipping on the top of the verso. Intact margins.
About the Artist
Born in Tokyo as Katsutaro Takahashi, Hiroaki (aka Shotei/ Komei) was in his mid-teens when he began to work in the design department of the Imperial Household Agency. He studied nihonga, or “Japanese-style painting” under his uncle Fuko Matsumoto, but also worked as an illustrator for periodicals and textbooks. Beginning in the early Taisho period, Hiroaki regularly collaborated with the prominent Shin Hanga publisher Shozaburo Watanabe. Hiroaki used a variety of signatures. Many of his large landscape and bijin-ga are signed “Hiroaki,” while ‘Shotei’ appears on other works. Hiroaki was a productive artist, completing around five hundred designs by the time he was fifty. Unfortunately, much of his work was destroyed by the fire that raged in the aftermath of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. Despite this tragedy, Hiroaki continued to work as a printmaker until his death in 1945.
Hiroaki Takahashi (Shotei) – Autumn moon at Tama river
In the piece a ferry operator holds the boat on the shore with a lantern in the bow, while a woman trudges towards the boat laden with a basket on her back. The ferry is docked under a weeping willow tree, lining the shore of the Tama River. The silouettes of boats can be seen out on the water, a mist between the trees, hills, and mountains on the opposing shore, a full moon gracing the sky.
Out of Stock; Have one to sell?
Out of stock
Additional information
| Artist | Shotei, Hiroaki Takahashi |
|---|---|
| Condition | (A) Very Good Condition |
| Date | 1910s-1930s |
| Movement | Shin-hanga |
| Size | Koban (6.75"x9") |
| Subjects | Beach, Boats, Fishing, Landscape, Night, People |
Description
I shall never get tired of looking at the moon tonight;
The mountains are bound together
Under the brilliant moonlight.
That poem graces a similar piece, Utagawa Hiroshige's Autumn Moon on the Tama River, a print by the same name as this one with a very similar composition, done nearly 100 years prior.
But that doesn't detract from the beauty of the piece, nor in its place in the portfolio of Shotei's 500+ artistic contributions. In the piece a ferry operator holds the boat on the shore with a lantern in the bow, while a woman trudges towards the boat laden with a basket on her back. The ferry is docked under a weeping willow tree, lining the shore of the Tama River. The silouettes of boats can be seen out on the water, a mist between the trees, hills, and mountains on the opposing shore, a full moon gracing the sky.
Comparable holding at the Freer|Sackler collection. Catalog number S-2, Watanabe 1936 catalog number 167.
The Woodblock Print
This print, measuring roughly 5"x7", is in very good condition. Excellent detail, strong colors, no signs of discoloration or fading. A very small and faint "Made in Japan" stamp in the lower margin on the verso. Minor residue of tipping on the top of the verso. Intact margins.
About the Artist
Born in Tokyo as Katsutaro Takahashi, Hiroaki (aka Shotei/ Komei) was in his mid-teens when he began to work in the design department of the Imperial Household Agency. He studied nihonga, or “Japanese-style painting” under his uncle Fuko Matsumoto, but also worked as an illustrator for periodicals and textbooks. Beginning in the early Taisho period, Hiroaki regularly collaborated with the prominent Shin Hanga publisher Shozaburo Watanabe. Hiroaki used a variety of signatures. Many of his large landscape and bijin-ga are signed “Hiroaki,” while ‘Shotei’ appears on other works. Hiroaki was a productive artist, completing around five hundred designs by the time he was fifty. Unfortunately, much of his work was destroyed by the fire that raged in the aftermath of the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. Despite this tragedy, Hiroaki continued to work as a printmaker until his death in 1945.
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