Hasui 巴水: Main Island Amakusa 天草

Artist: Kawase Hasui 巴水 (1883-1957)
Title: Main Island Amakusa (Amakusa Honryo) 天草 Date: 1937, August 昭和十二年八月

A woman carries her young child on her back as her daughter totes an armful of fresh vegetables tucked under her arm. They descend a path next to a hillside garden towards the homes of a clustered village. This work features a sky with a red palette that is not shown in Hotei/Brown. Amakusa is in Kumamoto Prefecture, and it includes two main islands, Kamishima 上島 (Upper Island) and Shimoshima下島, (Lower Island), as well as smaller islands and islets. It is off one of the southernmost main island, Kyushu. This work has the early Watanabe seal that makes it considered a first edition, right margin, in use between 1930 and 1942. Provenance: From the personal collection of René Balcer. 

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. 
Dimensions: ôban (40 x 27 cm)
Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: Kendall Brown, Kawase Hasui: The complete woodblock prints, 2003, no. 413. Narazaki number 294. See MFA Boston collection, Smithsonian Institution.
Seal: Watanabe Signature: Hasui with Kawase seal

SKU: HAC414R