Kasamatsu Shiro: Snowstorm in Kashiwazaki in Echigo, Niigata (SOLD)

Artist: Kasamatsu Shiro (1898-1991)
Title: Snowstorm in Kashiwazaki in Echigo, Niigata  Date: 1954

A snowstorm is in full force, blanketing the landscape, the white flakes falling soundlessly into the sea. We see a man pulling a sled across a wooden bridge, two other figures also walking, their heads covered to protect them from the snow. The background of th sea and sky are very skillfully printed, with bokashi blends and tones that range from indigo to green to grey. Kashiwazaki is known for its cold winters with heavy snowfall, and is also known as the birthplace of skiing in Japan. There is even a skiing festival held there every February.

The artist worked with the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo between 1919 and the late 1940s. In the early 1950s, he created woodblock designs for the Kyoto publisher, Unsodo. Later,  “Kasamatsu ventured out on his own, carving, printing, and selling his prints. In doing so, he followed the credo of the sôsaku hanga ("creative print": 創作版画) movement — jiga, jikoku, jizuri ("self-painted [drawn or designed], self-carved, self-printed": 自画 自刻 自摺).”  

This is the first edition, published by Unsodo in Kyoto. Note that there are many later editions of this work to be found, but very few to be found in this first edition. The publisher’s mark is located in the left margin, above the date of Showa 29 (1954). The date also is removed in later editions.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: 41.4 x 28.4 cm
Publisher: Unsodo Signature: Shiro 

SKU: SRC010H