Artist: Kawase Hasui
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Twelve Months of Tokyo
Edition: First and only
Date: 1920
Publisher: S. Watanabe Color Print Co.
Reference No.: Hotei #38
Size: 11 - 1/4 x 11 "
Condition: Very fine
Notes:
From the series Tokyo junikagetsu (Twelve months of Tokyo) Woodcut, round-shape. Signed, 'Hasui' and sealed, 'Kawase', published by Watanabe Shozaburo. In the printmaking process of this design, a novel technique was employed in cutting the blocks, which involved scratching the block with a rough whetstone (aratoshi). This novel approach was used to render the fluffy texture on the snow-capped roofs.
Hasui's successful series, 'Twelve Scenes of Tokyo' was followed by this series, which was based on sketches made in 1919. Hasui had planned to depict the city during the course of a year, but the project was delayed due to several additional sketching trips. He completed only five prints, in which he experimented with an unusual square format, having the round margin function as a decorative frame for the composition. The artist reportedly walked along the canal to sketch the blizzard, while the publisher S. Watanabe held an umbrella protecting him as he worked.