About This Print
One of fifteen prints in a 1936 collection of prints of famous sights in Kobe originally created by Hasegawa Sadanobu II, using the art name Konobu, in the early-mid 1870s. The portfolio, or collection, of re-carved and re-printed woodblocks was issued by an organization called the Kobe Old Print Association.Hasegawa's rendering of the steam engine is fairly accurate (see photo below. In the background on the left side is Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine
Hasegawa favored using the large horizontal tanzaku format for his landscape prints.
Cover, Kobe Old Print Collection 神戸古版畫集
Comparison of original 1874 print to 1936 print from re-carved blocks
Railway Comes to Kobe
The railroad connection between Kobe and Osaka was opened in May 1874 (Meiji 7). It took 70 minutes to travel the 32.7 kilometer route. The first Osaka Station, popularly known as Umeda Teishajo (梅田停車場), was located in Umeda, Osaka and was opened on May 11, 1874 (Meiji 7).
Two English-made steam locomotives, one of which is pictured below, were imported by the Imperial Government Railway of Japan for use on the Kobe-Osaka Line.
Manufactured in 1871, Sharp Stewart SN-2141
0-4-2 wheel configuration
Source: http://steam.fan.coocan.jp/beginning/11.htm (accessed 5/5/19)
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1957 |
| Title or Description | Picture of the Famous Kobe Steam Train from the Kobe Old Print Collection 神戸名所鉄道蒸気車之図 Kobe meisho tetsudō jōkisha no zu |
| Series | Kobe Old Print Collection 神戸古版畫集 |
| Artist | Hasegawa Sadanobu II (1848-1940) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | not sealed |
| Publication Date | re-printed from re-carved blocks in 1936 (originally 1874) |
| Publisher | 神戸古版畫同好會 KobeOld Print Association (originally Yaoya Zensuke 八尾屋善助, whose publishing information in the lower right corner of the print has been maintained in this collection's 1936 re-printed version) |
| Carver | |
| Printer | |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | poor - paper loss; trimmed to image on sides and bottom; color offsetting; not backed; vertical center fold with paper loss bottom |
| Genre | nishiki-e; kaika-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | horizontal large tanzaku 大短冊判横 |
| H x W Paper | 7 3/16 x 15 1/2 in. (18.3 x 39.4 cm) |
| H X W Image | 5 7/8 x 13 3/4 in. (14.9 x 34.9 cm) |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print | Cultural Heritage Online (original 1874 print); The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts А-30482 (original 1874 print) |
 |  |  |  |  |