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Snow at Echizen Canal — 雪の越前堀
by Mori Masamoto

	Artist:	Mori Masamoto — 森正元
	Title:	Snow at Echizen Canal — 雪の越前堀
	Series:
	Date of first edition?:	1951
	Publisher (first edition)?:	Adachi
	Publisher (this edition)?:	Adachi
	Medium (first edition):	Woodblock
	Medium (this edition):	Woodblock
	Format (first edition):	Large Oban
	Format (this edition):	Large Oban
	DB artwork code:	41155
	Notes (first edition)?:	There is also a postcard-sized version of this scene.
	Notes (this edition)?:	The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies: Sunday, 3 February 2008 Japanese Woodblock Print, Snowfall on Water’s Edge, Artist and Publisher Unknown, Post WWII. A large Japanese woodblock print of a snowfall over houses on water, done in the traditional manner in shades of gray with pale blue water. There are a number of inscriptions/seals: at the top right margin, the bottom right margin, the bottom left margin, and inside the image where there is a signature and seal on the lower right. The image measures 16 ¾ x 12 ¼ inches. With margins, 17 ½ x 13 inches. Condition: Good. There are no tears, but there is margin discoloration, along with creasing and wrinkling, especially at the corners and into the image about 2 inches in places. The top right corner has been folded over. The overall effect is that the print has been over-handled, but the edges are all intact, and most of the central image is undamaged. The printing is well executed with an emphasis on the complexity of surface forms. Good bleed through. This print is somewhat similar to one by Komura Settai called ‘Snowy Morning’. However, I had no further success in identifying this print.
	Artist Bio:	Mori Masamoto was a Japanese artist who was born in 1912. Little is known about Masamoto. He designed about 16 large-format shin-hanga landscape prints for Adachi Publishing in the 1950s, and about four oban-sized scenes for the publisher Baba Nobuhiko in the late 1950s after Baba re-established his publishing business after it was destroyed in world war 2. He also published at least 16 postcard-sized prints via Baba and perhaps other publishers. Masamoto's large-format shin-hanga scenes are beautifully rendered with wonderful attention to detail including masterful 'bokashi' colour graduation and often have subdued colour palettes . Woodblock prints by Masamoto are very rare, suggesting a single edition with small edition size for each scene (perhaps only 50 to 100 strikes per scene), and as a result are difficult to obtain.