Kishio Koizumi: Hirakawa Gate in Spring Rain (SOLD)
Artist: Kishio Koizumi (1893-1945)
Title: Hirakawa Gate in Spring Rain Date: 1936
Softened by rain, our view is of the wooden bridge spanning the inner moat of Edo Castle (today’s Imperial Palace.) Hirakawa Gate is still used as one of the three entrances to the east gardens of the Imperial Palace. It is located on the inner moat, and was traditionally used by the women’s maidservants as it was close to the women’s quarters. It is one of the few views of Tokyo that looks much the same today, especially if the rain would obscure the modern office towers rising in the background. In the 1940 annotated index of the series, Koizumi wrote: “This gate is the entrance to the Imperial Household Agency. In the rain it somehow conveys the feeling of the Edo period.”
The print title is on the upper left margin in black, Harusame-furu hirakawa-mon, the series title on the right margin, Showa dai Tokyo hyakuzue, dated and numbered, hanpu, dai nanajunana kei, dai juichinen shigatsu saku (distribution, no. 77, 11th year [1940], 4th month).
Koizumi Kishio self-published 100 designs in this very interesting series, although it took nine years to complete after the first work was published in 1928. In general the designs are very strong, and have a fresh perspective that is distinctive to this series. These works were sold by subscription club, which the artist declared to be limited to 50 members. Scarce. Right margin bears title, with date. Koizumi was guided by Tobari Kogan, and was one of only two sosaku-hanga artists (the other being Hiratsuka Un-ichi) to have received extensive training in block carving from professional block-carvers.
Series: Great Tokyo in the Showa Era 昭和大東京百図絵版画
Dimensions: 30 x 39.2 cm
Condition: Excellent impression and color; very good condition. With some minor creasing in marginand stray grey marks in sky, possibly from the time of printing. Signature: Izumi in kanji and Koizumi Kisio in block Roman letters.
References: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Catalogue of Collections: Prints, 1993, p. 134, no. 1265;
James T. Ulak, Tokyo Modern-II, Koizumi Kishio's 1940 Annotations on "100 Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era," Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures (visualizingcultures.mit.edu), 2009 (Koizumi translation)
The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, Florida, Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection, no. TD1993.69.1.23, TD1993.69.1.24 British Museum, no. 2004,0417,0.2.
SKU: KZK014