A small ceramic box for carrying incense in the shape of a gingko leaf decorated with the single character Hana (flower) by Shimizu Hian enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 8 x 6 x 3 cm (roughly 3 x 2-1/4 x 1 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Shimizu Hian (1883-1975) was a popular poet and painter of the early modern period. He graduated law studies from the prestigious Kyoto University, and took a position in Kobe District Court...

3 robed figures appear decidedly relaxed on the edge of a rock-strewn river lost in dark mountains. Above a poem reads:
Furusato ha Arukiteyukeru Tokoro ni-te, Yama ari, Mizu ari, kataru yuujin ari (Walking through my home(town) I find mountains, water and friends for conversation).
Ink on paper bordered in patterned silk with bone rollers...

A very rare Mashiko platter by Living National Treasure Hamada Shoji decorated with a poem cradled in an offset ring forming the mika-tsuki or third day moon by poet Shimizu Hian. The poem reads: Akaki Mi no Omoto no Hotori Dainaru Maruki kono yo no ishi okitari, and is signed by the 76 year old man Hian meaning it was made either in 1958 or 59 (depending upon whether Hian was going by the Western or Japanese manner of counting age)...

Sakiori obi (sash) for a casual kimono whose wefts are strips from old cotton textiles, and warps are indigo dye cotton yarn. Generally, in good condition except for a little dirt in one of the ends (6th image). 20th century W:15.5cm, L:2m54cm

Kawase Hasui
The Great Buddha, Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu)
Date: 1930.
Pre-war edition.
Size: Oban. Margins trimmed. Approximately 14.375 x 9.5 inches.
Reference: Hotei #204a.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Margins trimmed. Fading.

Shoda Koho
Moonlit Sea with Clouds - Sepia version
From the Hasegawa Night Scenes series.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 9.875 x 7.125 inches.
Date: 1910-1938.
Koho seal at lower left.
Publisher: Hasegawa Takejiro/Nishinomiya Yosaku
An early marginless edition as originally issued.
"Made in Japan" stamped on bottom left verso.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Back has adhesive residue...

Ohara Shoson (Koson)
Egret on Snow-covered Branch
Size: Tanzaku. Approximately 14.875 x 6.75 inches.
Date: 1930s.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Shoson signature and seal lower right.
Print features gauffrage embossing on bird (third photo).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Reference: S14.2 (cat. #156) in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Condition: Two pieces of tape at top back...

First edition Japanese shin hanga woodblock print by Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995) titled in kanji and English "Cherry Blossoms by the Gate" and dated in the left margin 1951. The artist's red seal is at the lower right with the pencil-signature below. Paper: 15 3/8" x 10 1/4" (image: 14 1/2" x 9 1/2"). Very good overall condition with slight waviness to the paper.

Japanese shin hanga woodblock print depicting two beauties walking with umbrellas down a rainy evening street lined with storefronts titled "Evening at Ushigome Kagurazaka" from the series "Sketches of Famous Places in Japan" by Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870-1949) dated in the right margin "8th month of Showa 14" (1939). A prominent lantern holding the name of the publisher Doi hangs at the left. The title is above the date in the right margin...

Lifetime edition Japanese shin hanga woodblock print titled "Yumoto Spa, Nikko" by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) dated in the left margin Showa 12 (1937). The artist's black ink signature and red seal are at the right edge of the image. Post-WWII edition bearing the round 6mm Watanabe publisher's seal at the lower right corner. Paper: 15 1/8" x 10 5/16" (image: 14 1/4" x 9 1/2"). Good overall condition. There is a fade line evident across the top of the image...

Lifetime edition Japanese shin hanga woodblock print by Shiro Kasamatsu (1898-1991) titled "Evening Sky at Suwa Shrine, Nippori" dated Showa 8 (1932). Post-WWII edition bearing the round red 6mm Watanabe publisher's seal at the lower right corner below the artist's black ink signature and red seal. Paper: 15 1/4" x 10 1/4" (image: 14 3/16" x 9 3/8"). The print does not appear to have been previously printed and is in very good overall condition...

A lovely bowl covered with abstract flower designs by Kawai Kanjiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hanawan. It is 12 cm (4-3/4 inches) diameter, 11.5 cm tall and in excellent condition. Kawai Kanjiro was a true artist by nature, and together with Hamada Shoji, set a pattern of study for modern potters...

A fabulous ceramic casket by Kawai Kanjiro covered in his famous Gosu blue with abstract colorful patterns enclosed in a wooden box signed by the head of the Kawai Kanjiro Kinenkan Museum. It is 25 x 14 x 14 cm (10 x 5-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Kawai Kanjiro was a true artist by nature, and together with Hamada Shoji, set a pattern of study for modern potters...

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)
Crows on a Cold Night
Date: Pre-1936.
Size: Approximately 7.125 x 4.875 inches.
Shotei seal lower left.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: S-19. Watanabe #173
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Tiny lower left margin corner bend.

Enryakuji Temple, Hiyeizan (Hieizan), Kyoto.
Artist not identified.
Dated November 12th, 1935.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print as the cover of a dinner menu of the Nippon Yusen Line passenger ship, Chichibu Maru.
Condition: Image is dented and scratched in places, particularly the upper left.
Note: These menus were printed using woodblocks carved by an artist. Mechanization was added to the process.

Kawase Hasui
Evening Snow at Terajima Village
Date: 1950-60s.
Size: 5.625 x 3.625 inches.
Woodblock print is attached along its top edge only to original blank card.
Card size: Approximately 7 x 4.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Not sealed by the artist. We've had a later sealed example.
Condition: Excellent.

Tomoe (after Hasui)
Rainy Street Scene
(This smaller unsealed print is clearly based on "City in the Rain" by Kawase Hasui).
Date: 1950s-60s.
Size: 5.5 x 3.625 inches
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print attached along its top edge only to original blank card (7 x 4.625 inches).
Condition: Excellent.

Tsuchiya Koitsu
Lake Chuzenji in Nikko
Size: 5.625 x 3.625 inches.
Publisher: Takemura Hideo.
Date: 1930s.
Koitsu's Shinsei seal at lower left.
Koitsu catalog no.: TK-TM-121.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Faint mark in snow near title.