Kasamatsu Shiro: Shinano Province Road; Country Woman Walking her Horse in Snow (Shinanoji) 信濃路 (SOLD)

Artist: Kasamatsu Shiro (1898-1991)
Title: Shinano Province Road; Country Woman Walking her Horse in Snow (Shinanoji)信濃路
Date: 1964

Shinano Road. A country woman leads her horse past snowy mountains, both of them seeming perfectly at ease, well-accustomed to the blizzards brought by winter. A heavy snow falls around them, and we see the shaggy coat of the horse that is essential for warmth in the cold. This region of the snowy Nagano town of Shinano is famous for its snow-covered mountains, which include Mount Myoko, Mount Kurohima and Mount Togakushi. Today there are numerous ski resorts in the area, and sightseers flock to see the 20-meter snow corridor that gets carved by plows each winter through one of the passes. This glimpse of a local woman in traditional clothing shows an earlier time, before modern development and when self-reliance was essential. Even Hiroshige included a view of Shiojiri Pass in Shinano Province in his Views of Fuji, although his view was of a summer scene. Between 1955 and 1965 Kasamatsu produced about 80 self-carved and self-printed designs, as here. This followed a collaboration with the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo between 1919 and the late 1940s.  

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: 40.5 x 28 cm
Publisher: Self-printed
Signature: Shiro Kasamatsu. Titled and dated in ink at bottom, and editioned 136/200 in pencil.

SKU: SHR018