Maiwai-gi which is a festive kimono of fishermem. It was given to fishermen from a master of fishermen or an owner of a fish boat on the occasion of large catch. It is mostly made of cotton with auspicious motifs with katazome (stencil-resist-dye) and partly hand painting. The original location of the Maiwai-gi is Boso peninsula in Chiba prefecture since late Edo period and spread along the Pacific Coast. This one has thick cotton lining so that it is made into yogi (kimono shaped bedding)...

Kawase Hasui
Snow at Heian Shrine Kyoto
Date: 1948
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe 6mm seal at lower right, indicating a first state produced between 1946-1957.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.5 inches.
Reference: Hotei #510.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Top margin has two original drying pinholes.

Dark glaze covers this beautifully crafted Koro from Kawai Kanjiro dating circa 1936 enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 11.5 x 9 x 8.5 cm (4-1/2 x 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches) excluding the lid and is in excellent condition. The lid is of exotic hardwood with an agate finial, and is a later addition (Kanjiro did not make lids for his koro). For similar examples see the Katsukawa collection published in the biblical tome by the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art...

Japanese Silver box from the Taisho period c1920. The decoration has a inscribed leaf design with a hardwood interior and bottom, good condition.

Provenance Zelig Collection

Dates Taisho c1920
H 2.75" x W 5.375" x D 4"

In Japan every season and every phase of the year is marked by the presence of a flower, the most noted of course being the cherry blossoms signifying the long-awaited arrival of spring. Lesser known to the outside world is the importance of the iris flower marking the end of spring and the beginning of the summer months. Growing along river banks and in other wetland, the iris is thought to have purifying properties to ward off evil and is also associated with the expression of heroic deeds...

Shoda Koho
Moonlit Sea
From the Hasegawa Night Scenes series.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 11 x 8 inches.
Artist's seal lower left.
Date: 1930s. Printed 1938-1960.
Publisher: Nishinomiya Yosaku.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.

Ohara Koson
Wading Egret
Size: O-tanzaku. Approximately 14.5 x 7.5 inches.
Date: Early 20th century.
Reference: K14.14 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Publisher: Daikokuya
Signed and sealed by the artist.
"Made in Japan" stamped on back.
Condition: Excellent.
Embossing on face, tail, and body.

Jokata Kaiseki (1882-1966)
Snow-capped Mt. Fuji.
Series: Twenty-five Views of Mt. Fuji in the Four Seasons
Date: 1929-31.
Size: Oban. Approximately 14.5 x 11.5 inches.
Signed and sealed by artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Very good with slight toning and faint line above the mountain.
- Features embossed snow and reddish mist.

Ohara Koson (Shoson)
Cranes on Seashore
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1933.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe sausage seal (C seal) at right margin, indicating a first edition printed between 1929-1942.
Shoson signature and seal.
Made in Japan stamped on verso.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: S4.1 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Excellent...

Ohara Shoson (Koson) (1877~1945)
Rabbits under bush clover and full moon.
Date: 1931.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Bears the Watanabe C (sausage) seal, which was in use between 1929-1942 and is consistent with a first/early edition.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15 x 10 inches.
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Reference: S41.7 in Crows, Cranes & Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Excellent.

Takahashi Shotei (1871-1945)
Okabe
Date: Pre-1936 (ca. 1927).
Size: Mitsugiri-ban. Approximately 15.0 x 6.75 inches.
Artist's seal lower left.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: M-39 in Shotei catalog.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Hiratsuka Un-ichi
Pagoda of Joruriji Temple, Kyoto
Date: 1960
Edition: 21/80
Size: Approximately 20 x 13.25 inches.
Artist's seal lower left. Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Back margin has tape remnants. Outer margin toned.

Yokouchi Ginnosuke (1870-1942)
Rain and Night Cherry Blossoms in Ueno Park
Date: September 1935
Size: Oban. Approximately 16.25 x 11.5 inches.
Edition: First and only. 91/300. Japanese-language limitation seal on back.
Signed and sealed by the artist.
Published by the artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Age toning. Faint matte line. Pencil note on back.
This rare woodblock print is one of only eight designs by the artist.

Andrew Kay Womrath (1869-1939)
Cottage and lane at night (given title)
Paper size: Approximately 8.25 x 6.5 inches.
Edition: 3/14.
Date:ca 1920s.
Medium: Woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.
Womrath collaborated with Yoshijiro Urushibara (1888-1953) on our Venice by Night (Item Womrath 005).

Andrew Kay Womrath (1869-1939)
Canal scene, Venice.
Paper size: Approximately 9.75 x 7.5 inches.
Artist's proof
Date:ca 1920s.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.
Womrath collaborated with Yoshijiro Urushibara (1888-1953) on our Venice by Night (Item Womrath 005).

Japanese sosaku hanga woodblock print by Onchi Koshiro (1891-1955) titled "Portrait of the Poet Hagiwara Sakutaro" dated 1943. Memorial edition printed by Koichi Hirai. The print is stamped on the back and dated in pencil September 1956. Red seal at the lower left. Paper size: 21 7/8" x nearly 17 1/4" (image: 20 1/2" x 16 1/2"). The print might have been loosely rolled at one time and is not completely flat. The back is lightly browned and has a short pen mark...

Yukata (cotton unlined kimono) with shibori (tie-dye) whose motifs are tomoe (three-way), aboshi (fishing net being dried) and a logo with the character uma (horse). The shibori techniques are: Miura shibori and Ori-nui shibori (folded and stitched). It is hand-sewn and all tie-dye is by hand. Vegetable indigo dyed. In excellent condition. 20th century. 126cm x 131cm

Tsuchiya Koitsu
Festival
Date: 1930s. First and only edition.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 10.0 x 7.25 inches.
Publisher: Takemura Hideo. Takemura seal at lower left. H. Takemura stamp on verso.
Koitsu's "Shinsei" seal at lower right.
Koitsu catalog no.: TK-TM-67.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Top back corners have some thinning.