PRINTS
Kasamatsu, Shiro; Watanabe
Japan (1898 - 1991)
Gyotoku Imai-bashi no shinsu (Early Autumn at Imai-bashi)
1939
Color woodcut on laid paper
9 5/8 x 14 1/4 in. (24.5 x 36.2 cm) image size; 10 1/4 x 15 1/2 in. (26 x 39.4 cm) sheet size
Frances and Thomas Blakemore Collection
FA 96.67

In 1939, the Ukiyo-e printmaker Shiro Kasamatsu began the series Eight Views of Edo. After a falling out with his long-term publisher, Watanabe Shozaburo, only four prints were completed, including Late Autumn at Imai Bridge, Gyotoko. At the time this piece was created, there was an Ukiyo-e revival aimed at differentiating these wood prints from the tradition of mass commercial art. This movement was driven by artists’ reaction to increasing technology within the printmaking field. Ironically, 20th-century Ukiyo-e production was driven largely by exports to the United States.

Shiro Kasamatsu’s strictly traditional Ukiyo-e designs were mainly of landscapes, but also included interiors and Noh masks. Western collectors were especially attracted to his romantic landscapes of traditional Edo Japanese life and landmarks. These included glamorized accounts of past Japanese society. The Edo period dates from 1603-1868, and Edo is also the old name for Tokyo. During the Edo period, the city had a vast system of natural streams and canals that required several hundred bridges. These bridges were entirely constructed of wood and were popular subjects for Ukiyo-e artists. -- Label copy for 150 Works of Art, October 1, 2005 to February 26, 2006.