Kishio Koizumi: The Monkey Bridge in Winter (Reserved)

Artist: Kishio Koizumi (1893-1945)
Title: The Monkey Bridge in Winter (Fuyu no Saruhashi)　冬の猿端橋

Date: 1939, December

We see a highly stylized view of the famous Monkey Bridge (Saruhashi) in Yamanishi prefecture, with giant snow clumps falling in the foreground. The artist has chosen to mostly conceal our view of the bridge by employing a bend in the river; we see one side of it, but the view is mostly of the cliffs on each side of the gorge. The rendering of the snowflakes seems to be unique to this design; note how the snowflakes appear larger at the bottom and smaller at the top, just as they would appear when experienced in person. The Saruhashi Bridge is an official Place of Scenic Beauty, appreciated as one of Japan’s three unique bridges. Built in the 18th century, the bridge is supported by cantilevered beams and spans the gorge of the Katsura River at Otsuki City. The bridge’s beauty and drama have inspired artists for centuries; most famous are the prints by Utagawa Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai.

Koizumi Kishio was born in Shizuoka in 1893. His father was a calligrapher, who encouraged the artistic talent that he saw in his son. Koizumi was also able to learn woodblock printing from his father’s block carver Horigoe Kan’ichi.  Koizumi was one of the first members of the Nihon Sosaku-Hanga Kyokai, and his first prints appear in 1920. His best-known series was his “One Hundred Pictures of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era”, produced between 1928 and 1937. He wrote a practical manual on woodblock printing that was apparently much utilized by other artists: The Method of Carving and Printing Woodblock Prints in 1924.

More than thirty sosaku-hanga print artists collaborated to create this series of prints, published between 1939-41, in the beginning of World War II. Only 39 were ever issued, each in an estimated edition of about 50; 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. 

The series title is stamped on the right margin in red, and the name of the artist’s group “Nihon Hanga Kyokai sen” ("Selected by the Japanese Print Association") is stamped lower left. 

Series: 100 Views of New Japan (Shin Nihon Hyakkei) 新日本百景Dimensions: 32.7 x 25.8 cm  
Condition: Excellent impression and color. Very good condition. There are waves in the paper along the left and right edges that seem to be from the time of printing, perhaps from moistening the paper to prepare it for printing.  Signature: Kisio

SKU: SNH030