About This Print
Similar in composition to Tea Ceremony (IHL Cat. #8 and #117), a woman with hasami in hand, arranges flowers.
The Original Woodblocks for this Print
The following is excerpted from the article "Shiro Kasamtasu - A Glimpse at the Blocks," by Andreas Grund about his 2003 trip to Unsodo Publishing House in Kyoto. The complete article can be found at the Ukiyo-e
Gallery website http://www.ukiyoe-gallery.com/kasablocks.htmPUBLISHER’S FIRE-SAFE STORAGE AREA
As we can see, during storage each carved face is separated by several layers of newsprint to prevent scratches and damage, with the set of blocks is tied together with a cord. Some of the apparent aging of these old cords tells us how long already the blocks have been stored tied together. On top of each stack is one original print, sometimes two or three for immediate identification and probably an aid for the printer to correctly match the colors for the later reprints. For me, as a collector I somehow feel pain, seeing such excellent prints abused as merely "wrapping paper."
As an aside--another print, "Ikebana" (#U-102), which had not previously been precisely dated in the "Complete Kasamatsu" book has just recently been discovered in a margin-dated state. By reading its "kanji" date ("Showa niju nana nen saku"), we now know with certainly that "Ikebana" was created in 1954 and not merely "around 1960" as Unsodo of Tokyo had surmised when asked about this print several years ago.
last revision:
As an aside--another print, "Ikebana" (#U-102), which had not previously been precisely dated in the "Complete Kasamatsu" book has just recently been discovered in a margin-dated state. By reading its "kanji" date ("Showa niju nana nen saku"), we now know with certainly that "Ikebana" was created in 1954 and not merely "around 1960" as Unsodo of Tokyo had surmised when asked about this print several years ago.
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #18 |
| Title | Ikebana 生花 |
| Series | |
| Artist | Kasamatsu Shirō (1898–1991) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | Shirō 紫浪 (see above) |
| Date |  |
| Edition | likely a first edition as indicated by date in Kanji on the bottom of the left margin (For more information on dating Unsōdō prints see the article Unsōdō Publishing.) |
| Publisher |  芸艸堂 版 Unsōdō han seal bottom left margin top-most seal |
| Printer |  |
| Carver |  彫 長嶋 "hori Nagashima" bottom left margin 3rd seal down |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | poor - mat line around perimeter of image; heavy toning verso, light toning front; tape across top and bottom margins verso |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Genre | shin hanga (new prints) |
| Format | ōban tate-e |
| H x W Paper | 16 x 10 1/2 in. (40.6 x 26.7 cm) |
| H x W Image | 14 3/8 x 9 1/2 in. (36.5 x 24.1 cm) |
| Collections This Print | Catalogue Raisonné: U-160 as listed in Shiro Kasamatsu - The Complete Woodblock Prints, Dr. Andreas Gund, self-published by the author, 2001; |
| Reference Literature |
8/17/2021
8/6/2018
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