Artist: Kawase Hasui
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Eight Views of Korea
Edition: Ono Gintaro / S. Watanabe
Date: 1939
Publisher: S. Watanabe Color Print Co.
Reference No.: Hotei #433
Size: 16 -1/2 x 11 -1/4 " (Large Oban Format)
Condition: Very fine, with superb colors
Notes:
A rarely seen large oban format design, from the series: Eight views of Korea. According to Narazaki, 'There are two versions of this design: purple and blue color tones distinguish the two different states.
Nakhwa, Puyo is located in the South Chungch'ong province in the Republic of Korea. The nearby Nakhwa (Rock of the falling flowers) is situated on a high cliff. According to legend, it is from here that court ladies jumped to their deaths into the Paekma river to avoid capture by armies invading the kingdom of Paekche (18 BCE to 660 CE). As they leapt to their deaths, their colorful robes fluttered in the wind like falling blossoms, hence the name, 'Nakhwa'.
Eight view of Korea: These prints resulted from a trip Hasui made to Korea in 1939, together with the artists Ikegami Shuho, Yazawa Gengetsu, Nagata Shunsui, and Yamakawa Shuho. The prints were published by Kansai Bijutsusha in Osaka headed by Naito Seifu, but produced by Watanabe Shozaburo. Narazaki writes: 'Hasui's trip to Korea served to refresh the artist, whose art had been stagnating for some time. The scenery and customs that Hasui witnessed in Korea marked an artistic turning point for the artist.