Artist: Hiroshi Yoshida
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Four Garden Scenes
Edition: First
Date: 1933
Publisher: The Artist - Privately Published
Reference No.: Abe #136
Size: 15 -3/4 x 10 -3/4 "
Condition: Very fine; natural paper flaw in lower left margin
Notes:
Signed and titled in pencil, with the artist's brush signature and red chop. Jizuri seal in the upper left margin. Two blind-stamped, embossed seals (karazuri) located in the bottom left margin. Yoshida occasionally included these special blind-stamps on prints intended for international exhibitions, special clients, or specific presentation portfolios. Because they require extra care to emboss without ink during the final printing stages, these specific designs are highly sought after by collectors.
Garden in Summer is a celebrated 1933 woodblock print by the Japanese master Hiroshi Yoshida. It belongs to his acclaimed Four Garden Scenes series, capturing a serene pavilion overlooking a vibrant river stream against a backdrop of soft summer mountains. Crafted during the height of the Shin-hanga (new prints) movement, the artwork showcases Yoshida's legendary skill in blending traditional Japanese woodblock techniques with Western impressionist lighting. The composition features flowing blue water swirling around foreground river rocks, drawing the viewer's eye up toward a traditional stilt-supported pavilion in Kyoto. The artist employed a muted, warm summer gradient across the distant mountains, capturing the hazy, humid atmosphere typical of a Japanese summer evening.