Kawatsura Yoshio (Negoro Raizan): Asakusa Temple in the Snow (SOLD)

Artist: Kawatsura Yoshio (Negoro Raizan) 1887-?
Title: The Temple, Asakusadera, Tokyo, 1922
Date: 1922

Asakusa Temple in snow. Rare, pre-earthquake design by this enigmatic artist. A solitary figure approaches a deserted Asakusa Temple during a snowstorm. We can just barely make out the shape of the famous oversized lantern in the shadows at the entrance to the temple. White blankets the scene and the pervading silence can be felt. Very little is known about the artist Raizan.  His prints are very scarce, most likely because they were published before the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and most of them were therefore destroyed. We also can assume that his publisher did not have the marketing genius of Watanabe Shozaburo. The Robert Muller collection at the Freer Gallery of Art has 17 works by Raizan; otherwise, few examples are known. This is one of the artist’s two best designs. Please note that these works never have a white margin on the outside of the design, so this is untrimmed.

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: 37.3 x 24.1 cm (oban)
Publisher: Yoshikawa Kobunkan
LIterature:  Illustrated in “The new wave”, page 166, number 201. See the Freer Gallery of Art online for the Muller example.

SKU: RZN012