Artist: Ito Shinsui
Medium: Original Limited Edition Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Eight Sights of Omi
Edition: #165/200
Date: 1918
Publisher: S. Watanabe Color Print Co.
Reference No.: Ito Shinsui Cat. #18; pg. 39
Size: 12 -3/4 x 9 " (Aiban Format)
Condition: Very fine, with superb colors
Notes:
RARE. Completed prior to the Great Kantō earthquake, which destroyed Watanabe’s studio along with the original blocks and unsold inventory. One of the earliest printed works by the master artist depicting Ukimido or the 'floating pavilion' constructed over the surface of a lake blanketed in snow. Dated: May, Taisho 7 (1918), published by Watanabe Shozaburo with edition stamp to verso (Design by Ito Shinsui/Katada from Eight Views of Omi, no.165, from a limited edition of 200 prints) with two seals Hanmoto and Watanabe; signed Shinsui.
Born in Tokyo, Ito Shinsui began apprenticing with printmaking master Kaburagi Kiyokata at age 13. In 1915, Shinsui designed one of the first shin-hanga prints, and three years later, he created Eight Views of Omi. Known for its natural wonders, temples, and shrines, Omi is an ancient Japanese province situated around Lake Biwa near Kyoto. Since the Heian period, Omi had attracted emperors, imperial families, and noblemen for retreat and exile from the outside world.