Moonrise at Tokumochi
by Tomoe (Shotei Takahashi copy by Watanabe)

	Artist:	Tomoe (Shotei Takahashi copy by Watanabe) — ともゑ
	Title:	Moonrise at Tokumochi
	Series:
	Date of first edition?:	Not set
	Publisher (first edition)?:	Watanabe Shozaburo — 渡辺
	Publisher (this edition)?:	Watanabe Shozaburo — 渡辺
	Medium (first edition):	Woodblock
	Medium (this edition):	Woodblock
	Format (first edition):	Postcard
	Format (this edition):	Postcard
	DB artwork code:	40032
	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: Monday, 12 February 2007 I found this woodblock and many others recently at the estate of an antique dealer. Most of the woodblocks were purchased in the very early fifties. I do not know the name of the artist for this small woodblock but it was designed after "Moonrise at Tokumochi" by Takahashi Shotei (1871 - 1945). Condition: Fine impression and colors, narrow margins, else fine condition. Size: 5.5" by 3.5" Rare Signature in the upper right, seal in the botton left
	Artist Bio:	Many of the prints signed "Tomoe" are clearly scenes by Takahashi Shotei and were sold by Watanabe from around the 1960s. Unusually, Watanabe Shoichiro, in an email reply to a colleague around 2008, stated that the prints are by Kawase Hasui: see the following email: ######################### Dear Al, Thank you very much for your email and enquires. The artist of the post card sized prints is Kawase Hasui. The seal is sounded "Tomoe (a Whirl)". Tomoe is the meaning of "Ha". On the other hand, "Sui" means "Mizu (Water)". He sometimes used "Tomoe" as his artist name for some small sized prints, instead of "Hasui". I hope this information is available for your enquiry. Sincerely, Shoichiro Watanabe ######################### What Shoichiro is suggesting here is that "Tomo" is a reading for Hasui's first kanji "巴", and "e" (in Tomo-e) is a reading for "画" meaning brush-stroke; picture. Thus, Tomoe means "painted by Hasui". My guess here is that Watanabe Tadasu, the second owner of Watanabe Woodblock Prints, decided to sell the postcards as being by the more famous Hasui, rather than by the lesser-known Takahashi Shotei, to increase sales.