About This Print
A later edition of the original 1932 print depicting the torii leading to Suwa Shrine (諏方神社 Suwa jinja) in the Nippori district of Tokyo. The sunset glow backlights this scene and a lone figure, a woman, perhaps with a baby on her back, is seen heading towards a shrine building.
I find the baren marks on the verso of this collection's impression quite wonderful as can be seen on the detailed view of the print's verso above. As with all images on this site, click on the image to see an enlarged image.
Last revision:
Toledo Museum of Art, 1936 Exhibition of Modern Japanese Prints - Notes on the Original Edition
The original edition of this print was included in The Toledo Museum of Art's seminal 1936 exhibition Modern Japanese Prints: Wood-block Prints by Ten Artists, The Work of the Past Five Years. The notes on this print appearing in the catalog of the exhibition are reproduced below.
Source: Modern Japanese Prints, Dorothy Blair, re-print of the 1931 and 1936 exhibition catalogues, The Toledo Museum of Art, 1997.
167 Evening Sky – Suwa Shrine, Nipporti (Yu-zora – Nippori Suwa Jinsha)
Stone steps and tori, or gateway, leading to the shrine. 14 ¼” x 9 7/16”
Signed at lower right, Shiro; red seal Shiro In” (Shiro’s mark). Left margin: the Japanese title; the date, “Showa Shichi Nen Aki” (Autumn of the 7th Year of Showa [March 1933]). Right margin: copyright stamp of the publisher, Watanabe of Tokyo. Blocks, about 20; superimposed printings, about 25; edition, 200.
Signed at lower right, Shiro; red seal Shiro In” (Shiro’s mark). Left margin: the Japanese title; the date, “Showa Shichi Nen Aki” (Autumn of the 7th Year of Showa [March 1933]). Right margin: copyright stamp of the publisher, Watanabe of Tokyo. Blocks, about 20; superimposed printings, about 25; edition, 200.
Suwa Shrine
Built, c. 1205, in the early Kamakura period, this Shinto shrine stands on a small hill that once boasted unimpeded views of Mt Fuji and Tokyo. The shrine is home to the Shinto deity who protects the Nippori and Yanaka districts.
Suwa Shrine today
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #1189 |
| Title | Evening Sky at Suwa Shrine, Nippori 日暮里 諏方神社 Yûzora, Nippori Suwa Jinja |
| Series | |
| Artist | Kasamatsu Shirō (1898–1991) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | Shirō saku (see above) |
| Date | originally published 1932, Autumn |
| Edition | Later edition (c. 1946-1957) with red circular 6 mm Watanabe seal in lower right hand corner of image. |
| Publisher |  Watanabe Shōzaburōseal reading ワタナベ Watanabe [Marks: seal 08-034; pub. ref. 576] |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Genre | shin hanga (new prints) |
| Format | ōban tate-e |
| H x W Paper | 15 1/8 x 10 3/8 in. (38.4 x 26.4 cm) |
| H x W Image | 14 3/16 x 9 7/16 in. (36 x 24 cm) |
| Collections This Print | Art Institute Chicago 1990.607.243 (unknown edition); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 50.2491 (with Watanabe black 6mm seal in lower left corner within block); Toledo Museum of Art 2006.170 (unknown edition); National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo P00211-006 (unknown edition) |
| Reference Literature | Catalogue Raisonné: W-10 as listed in Shiro Kasamatsu - The Complete Woodblock Prints, Dr. Andreas Gund, self-published by the author, 2001, Tokyo; Modern Japanese Prints, Dorothy Blair, re-print of the 1931 and 1936 exhibition catalogues, The Toledo Museum of Art, 1997, figure 167 |
8/17/2021
8/6/2018
 |  |  |  |  |