Two Beauties in Rain
by Shoson Ohara (1877-1945)- Koson

	Artist:	Shoson Ohara (1877-1945)- Koson — 小原祥邨、小原古邨
	Title:	Two Beauties in Rain
	Series:
	Date of first edition?:	1935 (circa)
	Date of this artwork?:	1935 circa (may not be accurate)
	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):	Oban
	Format (this edition):	Oban
	DB artwork code:	42419
	Notes (first edition)?:	Title "Two Beauties in Rain" (given name) Date ca1935 (First Edition). Publisher Watanabe Shozaburo Image Size 9 3/8 x 14 1/8 Superbly executed "bokashi" shading; "gauffraged" (embossed) lower willow leaves and lower kimono; baren "sujizuri" circles to foreground; highly detailed carving; Reference/Illus "Crow, Cranes, and Camellias" pl. #S-44.4. Comments A gorgeous print--one of Koson's very few "bijin-ga" images. Two beauties strolling under umbrellas during an early summer shower. Quite a rare print--lack of later printings would indicate that "block-set" destroyed. Watanabe "D-seal" used only 1931-41.
	Notes (this edition)?:	The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies: Wednesday, 4 August 2010 Title "Two Beauties in Rain" (given name) Date ca1935 (First Edition). Provenance Consigned by a discriminating eastcoast USA collector. Series na Publisher Watanabe Shozaburo Seal, Carver/Printer Watanabe "D-seal" (used only 1931-41) + "6-mm shozuri" combination (First Edition). Image Size 9 3/8 x 14 1/8 Impression Very Fine. Condition Excellent. Excellent colors. Clean front and verso. (Very slight wear.) No prior mounts.
	Artist Bio:	Ohara Koson (小原 古邨?, Kanazawa 1877 ? Tokyo 1945) was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, part of the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement. He was born Ohara Matao; it is thought that he started training in painting and design at the Ishikawa Prefecture Technical School in 1889-1893. He also studied painting with Suzuki Kason (1860 ? 1919), although accounts differ on whether this happened during his school years or after he moved to Tokyo in the middle to late 1890s. In Tokyo, he produced some woodblock triptychs illustrating episodes of the Russo-Japanese War, but most of his production was prints of animals (kacho-ga). He worked at first with publishers Akiyama Buemon (Kokkeido?) and Matsuki Heikichi (Daikokuya), signing his work Koson. Starting around 1926, he became associated with the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo, and signed his work Shoson. He also worked with the publisher Kawaguchi, signing his works Hoson. Through his association with Watanabe, Ohara's work was exhibited abroad, and his prints sold well, particularly in the United States. He was active designing prints until at least 1935, and died at his home in Tokyo in 1945. (from Wikipedia)