Pillar prints, or ko-tanzaku, are a format that creates beautiful challenges for the artist and their compositions. In this print Yoshimoto Gesso utilizes the 3" wide by 13" tall format to capture a scene of a calm, mountain lake, a pair of people silhouetted in a boat, the sun setting behind Mt Fuji which is reflected in the still waters. This print is Hasegawa Catalog Number 1590 from the series "Japanese Scenes on Tanzaku".

The Composition

Vertical, narrow prints are a by-product of traditional Japanese architecture, which offered very few solid wall surfaces. Many times, the only solid surface available for the hanging of pictures, were the structural posts which held up the roof. "Pillar prints" became a genre unto themselves and were referred to in Japanese as hashira-e or tanzaku.

The Woodblock Print

This print is in very good condition with strong color, no fading, discoloration, or foxing to be seen. The print is minus its margins, but that is typical for prints within this series. A Nishinomiya-Tokyo stamp is on the verso, signifying the publishing house. Some reside from tipping to a mat is left on the top edges of the verso.

The Artist

Yoshimoto Gesso is known for a large number of landscape and kacho-e (images of birds and flowers) designs published by Hasegawa and Nishinomiya, but little else is biographically known about him. These designs were very well crafted with artistic compositions made presumably for the foreign market.