About This Print
Source: Modern JapaneseWoodblock Prints - The Early Years, Helen Merritt, University of Hawaii Press, 1998, p. 101 and as footnoted."Yasui Sōtarō’s print YoungWoman, 1933, published by Kyūryūdō, is faithful to the artist’s figurativestyle with no hint of the carver’s personal interpretation. The color, deep muted pink with gray andblue, is thick and opaque, with little of the subtle quality that we associatewith moku-hanga, and suggests by itsappearance that it may have been applied by stencil."
Yasui designed at least sixteen woodblock prints that he then had carved and printed, under his supervision, by others. He viewed prints as "instrumental in expressing things by lines and colors."1
For more information on Yasui's woodblock prints see the section "The Artist's Woodblock Prints" on his biography page.
1Japanese Wood-block Prints, Shizuya Fujikake, Japan Travel Bureau, 1938 revised 1949, p. 137.
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #905 |
| Title | Girl in New Year Clothes 正月娘姿 (as titled by The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Merritt titles the print "Young Woman" in "Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints.") |
| Series | n/a |
| Artist | Yasui Sōtarō (1888–1955) |
| Signature | unsigned |
| Seal |  Sō 曾 |
| Publication Date |  |
| Edition | 73/100 |
| Publisher |  And from the always helpful Asian art historian Lynn Katsumoto, the following comments on Kyūryūdō. "They are an old publishing house, specializing in art. Founded in 1923, sounds like they were a gallery, selling art. Oh, according to the Wikipedia page, the name was meant to sound like the German "curieux" where you could always find "the new." This is so interesting! It goes on to say that the 龍 (りゅう; now written竜) - which means 'dragon' - was chosen for its old associations with the magical creature who could fly across the seas; in this case, to find the finest art publications from the West. Then they started publishing stuff too, and besides books, publish exhibition catalogues, calendars, posters, tickets, etc." |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | good - light toning throughout; light foxing visible in margins |
| Genre | sosaku hanga (creative print); moku hanga |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | dai-oban |
| H x W Paper | 18 1/8 x 13 3/8 in. (46 x 34 cm) |
| H x W Image | 15 3/4 x 11 1/8 in. (40 x 28.3 cm) |
| Collections This Print | The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo P01524; Madison Museum of Contemporary Art 1968.1.0387 |
| Reference Literature | Modern JapaneseWoodblock Prints - The Early Years, Helen Merritt, University of Hawaii Press, 1998, p. 102. |
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