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| Artist: | Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945) Hiroaki — 松亭高橋、弘明 |
| Title: | Mt Fuji from Hakone — 箱根 |
| Series: | |
| Date of first edition?: | 1932 |
| Publisher (first edition)?: | Watanabe Shozaburo — 渡辺 |
| Publisher (this edition)?: | Watanabe — 渡辺 |
| Medium (first edition): | Woodblock |
| Medium (this edition): | Woodblock |
| Format (first edition): | Oban
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| Format (this edition): | Oban |
| DB artwork code: | 38085 |
| Notes (first edition)?: |
Artist Takahashi Hiroaki
Title Fuji from Hakone
Medium Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title Fuji
Date 1932
Publisher Watanabe
Reference No W-13
Size 10-1/4 x 15-1/2 "
Ross: To date I have seen two types of publisher seals on this scene, so I suspect only two editions. |
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| Notes (this edition)?: |
| The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies:
Ross: This would be the first edition, with Watanabe A seal in the lower right margin.
A good unframed colour woodcut by Shotei of Mount Fuji. I have played safe by dating this to post 1940, but it may in fact be earlier, judging by the condition of the backing card, to which the print is glued.
There is a small blemish at the top left corner, probably from a previous overmount (see photo) and slight intrusion of the glue over the right edge margin - again from a previous overmount (and clear in one of the photos). Finally, there are a couple of lateral lines about half way down and 3-5 inches in from the left margin. I have looked at these carefully under a glass and believe that they were either intended by the artist or are perhaps a slight printing fault. Colour is superb.
Size: 9.5 x 14.5 inches (image); with quarter to half inch slightly uneven margins all round |
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| 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.
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