This small print, one of five in a portfolio titled Scenic Views of Sapporo, Hand-printed Woodblock Collection, Volume 1, pictures the botanical gardens on the campus of Hokkaido Imperial University with the Natural History Museum, built in 1884 in the background. The bust was melted down during WWII and reconstructed in 1947. The five prints in this portfolio feature scenic views on or near the campus of Hokkaido University, the former Hokkaido Imperial University.
Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens
Source: wikivisually http://wikivisually.com/wiki/Hokkaido_University_Botanical_Gardens
The Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens (北海道大学植物園 Hokkaidō Daigaku Shokubutsuen) are operated by Hokkaido University. The gardens were established in 1886 as part of the Old Sapporo Agricultural College, and are now the second oldest botanical gardens in Japan after Koishikawa Botanical Garden. Today they form part of the university's School of Agriculture, and contain a small part of the forest formerly covering the Ishikari Plain, plus collections of over 4,000 plant species, including alpine plants, wild plants from Hokkaidō, and the oldest lilac in Sapporo. Serious typhoon damage was sustained in 2004.
The gardens also contain early Hokkaidō homes, a tropical greenhouse, and the Natural History Museum (built 1884), which exhibits Ainu artifacts, local archaeological and biological specimens, and the stuffed body of Taro, one of two surviving sled dogs from Japan's 1958 Antarctica mission.
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1568b |
| Title | Hokkaido Imperial University Botanical Garden 北海道帝國大學附属植物園 [title as written in portfolio's table of contents] |
| Series | Scenic Views of Sapporo Hand-printed Woodblock Collection, Volume 1 札幌風景手摺版画集 第一輯 |
| Artist | Katō Tetsunosuke (active c. 1925–1950) |
| Signature | no signature |
| Seal |  |
| Date | c. 1947 |
| Publisher | Sapporo Tourist Association 札幌観光協会発行 Sapporo kankō kyōkai |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent - tipped along the top onto backing sheet |
| Genre | sosaku hanga (creative print) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | |
| H x W Paper | 4 1/8 x 6 1/8 in. (10.5 x 15.6 cm) |
| H x W Image | 3 3/4 x 5 3/4 in. (9.5 x 14.6 cm) |
| Collections This Print | Sapporo Municipal Central Library 0206-01-120 |
| Reference Literature | |
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