About This Print
Originally issued for the 1946 poetry and print book Flowers of Japan: Anthology of Poems [Shikashū: Nihon no Hana], edited by Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955) and published by Fugaku Honsha in 1946, this print is one of three prints, along with White Plum by Maekawa Senpan (1888-1960) and Rose by Kawanishi Hide (1894-1965), that were pasted into the book. Other designs were printed directly onto the pages using woodblock. In addition to the four artists who contributed print designs (Kawanishi, Kawakami, Maekawa and Onchi), quite a few poets contributed work including Satō Haruo (1892-1964), Kitahara Hakushū (1885-1942), Noguchi Yonejirō (1875-1947), Kaoru Maruyama (1899-1974), Tatsuji Miyoshi (1900-1964), Ruyko Kawaji (1888-1959), Andō Ichirō (1907-1972), and Onchi. "There are thirty poems on the theme of Japanese flowers, and all are accompanied by a realistic illustration. Onchi did the illustrations for twelve poems, including that for his own poem entitled Tennanshō (Taro)."1For other prints from this book in the collection see Rose and White Plum. To see a complete copy of the book go to the Smithsonian website https://pulverer.si.edu/node/462/title/1
1 "Illustrated Books and Magazines by Onchi Kōshirō" Robert Vergez, appearing in Andon (Bulletin of the Society for Japanese Arts and Crafts), Vol. 5, No. 18, 1985.
 Nihon no Hana cover |  Nihon no Hana clockwise from upper left printed wrapper, Kawanishi Hide's (1894-1965) Rose, Maekawa Senpan's (1888-1960) White Plum and Kawakami Sumio's (1895-1972) Thistle. |
1 "Illustrated Books and Magazines by Onchi Kōshirō" Robert Vergez, appearing in Andon (Bulletin of the Society for Japanese Arts and Crafts), Vol. 5, No. 18, 1985.
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #406 |
| Title | Thistle (Azami) |
| Series | originally created for the book Flowers of Japan: Anthology of Poems [Shikashū: Nihon no Hana] 詞華集 日本の花 |
| Artist | Sumio Kawakami 川上澄生 (1895-1972) |
| Signature | unsigned |
| Seal | sumi |
| Publication Date | 1946 |
| Edition | unknown - it is likely that many of the individual prints were separately editioned |
| Publisher | Fugaku Honsha 富岳本社 [as shown on the book's colophon] |
| Printer | 一乘道明 [as shown on the book's colophon] |
| Carver | 上村益郎 Uemura Masurō [as shown on book's colophon] |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent |
| Genre | sosaku hanga (creative print) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | chuban |
| H x W Paper | 6 3/4 x 5 1/4 in. (17.1 x 13.3 cm) |
| Collections This Print | British Museum 1989,0314,0.108 (copy of Nihon no Hana); Smithsonian Institutions Freer and Sackler FSC-GR-780.500.1-2 (copy of Nihon no Hana) |
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