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| Artist: | Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945) Hiroaki — 松亭高橋、弘明 |
| Title: | Kamata — 鎌田 |
| Series: | 8 Views in South of Tokyo — 東南八景 |
| Date of first edition?: | 1922 |
| 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
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| Format (this edition): | Oban |
| DB artwork code: | 46673 |
| Notes (first edition)?: |
Artist: Takahashi Shotei
Title: Kamata
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Eight Views in South of Tokyo
Edition: First
Date: 1922
Publisher: S. Watanabe
Reference No: Folk #178 (pg.36)
Size: 10 -1/2 x 15 -1/4 "
Notes: According to Watanabe, the prints that he commissioned from Shotei "required far more labor than regular hand-painted works (nikuhitsu), in light of necessary line drawings, colorings, and multiple imprints. However, once completed, his prints reveal more exquisite colors than nikuhitsu, and many in Europe and America wanted his prints. Year after year, Shotei expended much effort in his print designs. By earthquake [September 1, 1923], we produced more than 500 designs, large and small, by him alone. The first shinsaku hanga published by Shobido were simply these "Shotei prints." - Water and Shadows, Kendall Brown.
A rare pre-earthquake, oban size design. |
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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:
Artist: Takahashi Shotei
Title: Kamata
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Eight Views in South of Tokyo
Edition: First
Date: 1922
Publisher: S. Watanabe
Reference No: Folk #178 (pg.36)
Size: 10 -1/2 x 15 -1/4 "
Condition: Very fine.
Notes: According to Watanabe, the prints that he commissioned from Shotei "required far more labor than regular hand-painted works (nikuhitsu), in light of necessary line drawings, colorings, and multiple imprints. However, once completed, his prints reveal more exquisite colors than nikuhitsu, and many in Europe and America wanted his prints. Year after year, Shotei expended much effort in his print designs. By earthquake [September 1, 1923], we produced more than 500 designs, large and small, by him alone. The first shinsaku hanga published by Shobido were simply these "Shotei prints." - Water and Shadows, Kendall Brown.
A rare pre-earthquake, oban size design. |
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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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