About This Print
One of five prints in this collection from the portfolio of prints titled "Woodblock Prints by Kihei Sasajima" issued in an edition of 300 copies by the Tokyo publisher Bijutsu Shuppan-sha in 1964.The printer, Yoneda Minoru, has colored this print from the back 刷版裏彩色, a technique used by Sasajima on many of his prints, making the print's verso as interesting as its front.
"Woodblock Prints by Kihei Sasajima" - A Portfolio of Twenty Reduced-Size Prints
A portfolio of twenty prints designed by Sasajima Kiehi and published by Bijutsu Shuppan-sha. The prints in the portfolio are woodblock reproductions, almost all of them reproduced in a smaller size than the original prints created by the artist. The woodblocks for the reduced-size prints (縮写復刻 shukusha fukkoku) were carved by Iokibe Kin’ichi (1913-1978)2 and printed by Yoneda Minoru3. The table of contents for the series, shown below, provides the titles of the twenty prints, their original size and original date of publication. Each print was tipped into a windowed mat which carried the number of the print as shown in the table of contents. The portfolio included a commentary by Michiaki Kawakita, author and art historian.
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Comparison of Original Print with Portfolio Print
This print is the 18th print in the portfolio. As originally created by Sasajima its dimensions were approximately 23 5/8 x 17 3/4 in. (60 x 45 cm). The portfolio reduced-size reproduction measures approximately 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (34 x 27 cm).
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1 Japanese Swords: Cultural Icons of a Nation; The History, Metallurgy and Iconography of the Samurai Sword, C. M. Roach, Rutland, Vermont : Tuttle Publishing, 2010.
2 Iokibe Kin’ichi 五百旗頭欣一 (1913-1978) was a poet, artist and carver.3 Yoneda Minoru (?-?) also carved the blocks for many of the re-prints of the work of Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955).
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1807 |
| Title | Guardian of the South (Zōjōten) 増長天 |
| Portfolio | Woodblock Prints by Kihei Sasajima 笹島喜平版画作品集 Sasajima Kihei hanga sakushinshū |
| Artist | Sasajima Kihei (1906-1993) |
| Signature | not signed |
| Seal of the Artist |  |
| Publication Date | October 1, 1964 (originally 1963) |
| Publisher | Bijutsu Shuppan-sha Corporation 株式会社美術出版社 (Ōshita Masao 大下正男) |
| Carver | Iokibe Kin’ichi 五百旗頭欣一 |
| Printer | Yoneda Minoru 米田稔 |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent |
| Genre | sosaku hanga; 縮写復刻 shukusha fukkoku (reduced-size reissue) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | |
| H x W Paper | 13 3/8 x 10 11/16 in. (34 x 27.1 cm) |
| H x W Image | 13 3/8 x 10 11/16 in. (34 x 27.1 cm) |
| Collections This Print | National Diet Library JP番号64012710 and NDL Call Number 733-Sa735s |
| Reference Literature |
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