Henmi Takashi: Late Autumn in Itako

Artist: Henmi Takashi (1895-1944)

Title: Late Autumn at Itako 潮来 (Itako Banshû)  Date: 1939, May

Series: 100 Views of New Japan 新日本百景 (Shin Nihon Hyakkei)

Quiet view of everyday life among the waterways of Itako, in Ibaraki Prefecture. It is famous as a historic “water town” (suijo), known for its canals, boat traditions and early-summer iris festival. During the Eso period it was a major transshipment point for rice and goods, and today it is famous for the Suigo Itako Ayame Festival, which features about a million iris plants. This prewar view shows the traditional side of Itako, one that had narrow canals, small boats, rice paddies and houses that were closely integrated with the water. Following the postwar industrialization decades, scenes like this one are probably much more far between. Kawase Hasui designed a print also showing early autumn in Itako in 1942. It shows a sailboat on one of the glassy waterways at dusk.

More than thirty sosaku-hanga print artists collaborated to create this series of prints, published between 1938-41, as regional conflicts eventually ignited into World War II. Only 39 were ever issued; the last 29 were edited by Maekawa Senpan. According to the Art Gallery of New South Wales website, publication of this series was stopped by the Japanese authorities during WWII who feared that the interior of Japan would become known to its enemies. This would not be surprising given the paranoia of wartime, but it is also probable that there were other factors, including limited supplies and artists conscripted into the war machine.

The series title is stamped on the right margin in red, and the name of the artist’s group “Nihon Hanga Kyokai (Sen)” is stamped lower left. 

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Never framed. The artist’s name has been written in pencil lower right margin, but it is not known if this was written by the artist himself. 

Literature: British Museum collection, Carnegie Museum of Art. See the Art Institute of Chicago (their impression seems to have been printed later, in the 1940s. It lacks the series title and publisher’s seal in the margins.) For biographical information, see the British Museum website Biography section.

 Dimensions: 25.6 x 32.5 cm

SKU: SNH036