A beautiful chuban-sized woodblock of Godaido Shrine, Matsushima with beautiful, vibrant saturated colors. Published by Doi Hangaten, carved by Harada, printed by Yokoi, this print is an exemplary printing, with research dating the printing from 1936-1962 (E seal).
The Woodblock Print
This chuban woodblock by Koitsu is in very good condition. Rich, saturated colors with clean margins and a clean verso but with toning to the verso (not evident from the front). Beautiful bokashi shading of the setting sun. A few tiny spots of foxing, but virtually unnoticeable unless very very close to the print.
About the Artist
Tsuchiya Koitsu (土屋光逸, September 23, 1870 – November 13, 1949) is a well-known artist of the Shin-Hanga movement who specialized almost exclusively in landscape images.
Born in 1879 in rural Japan with the given name Koichi. He became a student of the ukiyo-e master Kiyochika Kobayashi (1847-1915) after starting an apprenticeship for a woodblock carver who worked for Kobayashi. Soon the ukiyo-e master himself took care of the young Koitsu, where he stayed and worked for 19 years in the home of his master. From 1931 on, Tsuchiya Koitsu became one of the artists working for the publisher Watanabe in the shin-hanga style. His style is reminiscent of the works of his master Kobayashi and of the famous shin-hanga artists Kawase Hasui and Hiroshi Yoshida. In typical shin-hanga style Tsuchiya Koitsu intensively used the effects of light to create moods and emotions in his images.
