Tsuchiya Koitsu
Edogawa (Edo River)
Date: 1930s.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 10.5 x 7.75 inches.
Publisher: Takemura Hideo. Seals on front and back.
Sealed by Koitsu at lower left.
Koitsu catalog no.: TK-TM-68
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Ohara Koson (Shoson)
Redstarts on Flowering Cherry Branch
Size: O-tanzaku. 13.5 x 7.25 inches.
Date: 1910s
Koson signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Daikokuya.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: K26.5 in Koson catalog.
Condition: Top back corners have paper residue.
- This print features lovely woodgrain.

Japanese woodblock print entitled "Moon Over Kiyosume Garden" by the artist Kawase Hasui. Muted tones depict a tranquil lake. A yukimi-dōrō (stone lantern) stands on the edge of the water near a stand of dwarf pines. With black 6mm seal. Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Produced during the lifetime of the artist.

Age: 1944-1957

Dimensions: Paper size: 15 1/4" high x 10 1/4" wide

Very rare carving of the Three Wise Monkeys, sanzaru in Japanese, sitting on two logs. The one who hears no evil (kikazaru) and the one who speaks no evil (iwazaru) are sitting together. A little separated from them sits the one that sees no evil (mizaru). Carved in facet-cut (abstracted style) in soft cedar wood (sugi).

Signature in the bottom: Masahide.

Japan, first half of to mid-20th century.

H 3.25 x W 8.75 x D 2.1 in...

Eisho Narazaki (1862-1936)
Interior of Asakusa Kannon Temple
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1932
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe C seal at left margin, indicating a first edition printed 1929-42.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Toned paper.
There is so much to look at in this lively, superbly printed image.

Japanese limited edition sosaku hanga woodblock print by Tadashi Nakayama (1927 - 2014) titled “Flowers and Riding Horse” (Hana to Kiba) dated 1968. The bottom margin contains, in pencil, the date, artist’s signature and edition number 49/85. The paper measures 20 3/8”V x 15 3/4”H (Image: 14 1/2"V x 11"H). A red Nakayama seal is on the back. In pencil at the bottom left corner of the back is the title, in Japanese, and the original saIes price of 10,000 yen...

Ohara Koson (Shoson)
Magpie and Magnolia
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1931. This edition 1946-1957.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe 6 mm seal at lower left.
Shoson signature and seal lower right.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: S5.1 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Excellent. Point-sized mark at bottom edge...

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
Fireworks, Shubinomatsu
Size: Mitsugiriban. 15 x 6.75 inches.
Date: pre-1936.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Sealed and titled in the image.
Reference: Shotei catalog M-23. Watanabe #222, Ota-ku #195
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Top back edge has paper residue.

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
Teahouse in the Night
Size: Mitsugiri-ban. Approximately 15.0 x 6.625 inches.
Date: pre-1936.
Artist's seal at lower right.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
No. 564 in 1936 Watanabe catalog. M-57 in Shotei catalog.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870 - 1949)
Lake Kawaguchi
Date: 1933.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Doi Hangaten. Doi watermarked paper.
Carver: Harada. Printer: Yokoi.
This seal combination indicates a 1950-1963 edition.
Reference: Koitsu catalog TK-DH-6.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Short dash mark in right sky. Very slight creasing at upper right.
Notes: This spectacular Fuji view features embossed clouds...

Solid wooden folk art carving of a giant penis. Strapped around it are red and white twisted cotton cords (imenawash) with paper strips (gohei). Penises of this size were donated to Shinto shrines dedicated to fertility, in the hopes of getting pregnant. Or they were carried around during fertility festivals.

Cryptomeria (sugi) wood, red and white cotton, paper

Japan, 20th century

H 24.5 inches (62.2 cm)

Excellent condition

Japanese limited edition woodblock print by French artist Paul Jacoulet (1902-1960) titled "Sunset in Menado, Celebres" (Coucher de Soleil a Menado. Celebres) published December 26, 1938. Executed in a soft palette, the print depicts a nude male in a subservient position to the female standing over him. This print is illustrated on page 55 (plate 53) of “The Prints of Paul Jacoulet” by Richard Miles, 1982. It is described on page 100...

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
Peddler in the Snowy Night
Size: Chuban. Approximately 9.875 x 7.0 inches.
Date: pre-1936.
Artist's seal at lower right.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
No. 509 in 1936 Watanabe catalog. C-29 in Shotei catalog.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Kiyoshi Saito
Daitoku-Ji Kyoto (C) 1959
Edition: 99/100
Size: 23.5 by 18 inches. Matte size: 26.125 x 21.75 inches.
Date: 1959.
Self-carved and printed by the artist. (See tag).
Signed and sealed in the image.
Titled, numbered, and dated in pencil.
Condition: Margins heavily foxed. Front image area has minimal foxing. Two bits of tape residue at top back margin.
The temple dates to 1326...

Ohara Koson
Two Mallards in Flight in Front of a Full Moon
Size: O-tanzaku. Approximately 14.5 x 7.5 inches.
Date: ca. 1910-1923.
Koson signature and seal
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Publisher: Daikokuya (108)
Reference: K7.1 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Margin chip upper right corner.

Woodblock print by Japanese sōsaku-hanga artist Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995) titled "Irozaki Morning". It shows the beautiful Cape Irozaki, done with soft pastels in the sky as the sun rises in the distance. Waves crash upon the rocks in the foreground, and three ships can be seen leaving port. It is signed and titled in pencil along the bottom, stamped in the corner, and also signed in kanji along the outer edge. Size: 11.25" height, 15" length

Original woodblock print ONE TREE (GOLD) by Joichi Hoshi (1913-1979) printed in 1978. Excellent crisp print in great condition, superb design, metallic gold highlights to the background, listed as plate 390 in JOICHI HOSHI CATALOGUE OF ALL TREE WOODBLOCK PRINTS published by Kato Gallery in 1988. Black “tree” seal of the artist in lower right corner, titled, signed and dated by the artist in pencil (see detail). A bit of foxing along the margins (see Enlargement 6), the image is not affected...

Kiyoshi Saito
Siamese Cat
Date: ca. 1940s-50s.
Paper size: Approximately 23.675 x 18 inches.
Image size: Approximately 19 x 14 inches.
Sealed but not signed.
Self-published by the artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Laid down to board. Light wrinkling.
Note: In the last image, I show this print paired with another cat (our Saito 025). These cats also appear together in another Saito design known as "Cats".