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Hunting Fireflies in Cool Breeze

Hunting Fireflies in Cool Breeze
by Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945) Hiroaki

The artworks displayed on JAODB are not for sale.

Artist: Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945) Hiroaki 松亭高橋、弘明
Title: Hunting Fireflies in Cool Breeze
Series: 
Date of first edition?Not set
Publisher (first edition)?Not Set
Publisher (this edition)?Not Set
Medium (first edition): Woodblock
Medium (this edition): Woodblock
Format (first edition): Mitsugiri
Format (this edition): Mitsugiri
DB artwork code: 33643
Notes (first edition)?
Notes (this edition)?
The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies:

Woodblock print measures 21" tall x 11" wide including frame and actual print measures 15" tall x 7-1/4. Print and frame are in overall good condition. Print has not been taken print out of frame.

Artist Bio: 
Takahashi Shotei was born in Tokyo with the given name of Takahashi Katsutaro. At a young age he was trained in Nihon-ga , the traditional Japanese painting style by his uncle Matsumoto Fuko, and beginning around 1907 Shotei started designing for the Watanabe Color Print Company. Shotei was among the first designers to be recruited into Watanabe's stable of artists, which would later expand to include Goyo, Shinsui, Hasui, Kasamatsu, Koson and Koitsu among others. Many Watanabe prints were designed for export, primarily to North America, where the demand for all things Japanese was high in the early 20th century.

By 1923 Shotei had produced nearly 500 designs for Watanabe, when Tokyo was hit by the Great Kanto earthquake -- the worst recorded natural catastrophe in the history of Japan. The fires ignited by the earthquake raged for three days, and Watanabe's print shop and all the woodblocks created by Shotei and the other early shin hanga artists, were destroyed.

After the earthquake Shotei created another 250 prints mostly depicting scenic Japanese landscapes in the shin hanga style he had helped to define. He continued to work for Watanabe, but also worked with the publishers Fusui Gabo and Shobido Tanaka, where he had more control over the finished print than was possible with Watanabe.

Shotei used a variety of names, signatures and seals during his lifetime. From 1907 until 1922 he used the name Shotei, and after 1922 Hiroaki and Komei.

The artworks displayed on JAODB are not for sale.

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Site copyright: Dr Ross F. Walker. Copyright of the displayed artwork: the original owner. The information contained on this website is provided as an educational resource to scholars and collectors of Japanese art. JAODB would like to thank the caretakers of these art items for their contribution to this database. The items displayed here are not being offered for sale. Unless otherwise indicated the displayed item is not in the ownership of JAODB or Ross Walker.