Kasamatsu Shiro: Saihoji Moss Garden in Rain (Sold)

Artist: Kasamatsu Shiro (1898-1991)
Title: Saihoji Temple Moss Garden in the Rain
Date: 1960

Saihoji Temple and its famous moss garden. Shiro has honored this temple in Kyoto’s Arashiyama mountains with an all-green palette so that we feel the verdant perfection of the garden, which was created by a Zen monk in 1339. The temple is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Circular patterns on the water’s surface indicate where rain must be dripping from the treetops, and the clumps on the trees must indicate moss. Shiro Kasamatsu was a student of Kaburagi Kiyokata, and published woodblock prints with Watanabe before the war. After the war he began to publish his own designs, as here. They seem to straddle the line between shin hanga and sosaku hanga. 

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: 41.2 x 28.3 cm
Publisher: Self-printed
Signature: Shiro Kasamatsu. Titled and dated in ink at bottom, and editioned 195/200 in pencil.

SKU: SHR017