Hasui 巴水: Nagoya Castle 名古屋城 (First edition)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 巴水 (1883-1957)
Title: Nagoya Castle 名古屋城

Series: Selection of Views of the Tokaido 東海道風景選集
Date: 1932, May

Nagoya Castle is surrounded by late spring greenery, including blooming water lilies that fill the surrounding moat. Hasui’s eye for detail includes the protective wire mesh surrounding the two golden shachi (tiger-headed dolphins) that are seen on the topmost points on the roof. It is interesting to note that these 2.5-meter shachi contained various amounts of pure gold through the centuries, and were melted down and recast with lesser purity in times of economic hardship. The sky surrounding the castle is a soft yellow with grey at the top and pink and purple near the horizon, indicating dawn or perhaps dusk. Although not on the Tokaido Road, Nagoya Castle is historically important, and was constructed in 1612 on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu on the site of an earlier castle from the Sengoku period. In 1893 the castle was designated as a formal imperial residence. In 1930, ownership of the castle was transferred to the City of Nagoya, and 24 structures on the castle grounds were designated as national treasures. During World War II, many of the castle buildings were destroyed by air raids. Here we see the original castle keep prior to its destruction in 1945. Many areas and buildings have been rebuilt and renovated in the decades following the war.  With the Watanabe seal recto margin that was in use between 1930 and 1942, as well as what is sometimes considered the Watanabe “gift” seal in red, verso. A rather scarce design, especially with these unfaded colors.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condiition.
Dimensions: ôban (38.8 x 26.3 cm) Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: Narazaki Muneshige, Kawase Hasui mokuhanga shu (Kawase Hasui, Collection of Woodblock Prints), 1979, no. 194. Kendall Brown, Kawase Hasui: The complete woodblock prints, Hotei Publishing, 2003, no. 224. See Art Institute of Chicago.
Seal: Kawase Signature: Hasui

SKU: HAS654