Kobayashi Asaji: Winter Landscape of Ski Slope at Shiga Heights (RESERVED)
Artist: Kobayashi Asaji (1898-1939)
Title: Winter Landscape by Night at Shiga Heights (Shiga Kôgen yoruyuki)
Date: 1939, December
Series: 100 Views of New Japan 新日本百景 (Shin Nihon Hyakkei)
Charming view from a porch looking out over a gentle ski slope along a moonlit valley. Next to us in our cozy vantage point is a wicker rocker and what looks to be a birdcage at right. Not far below we see two skiers who have either just finished a run and are taking in the moonlight on the snow, or they are contemplating another run. The very strong cropped foreground elements even bring to mind Hiroshige, the OG in cropping elements in landscape design. There is something of a storybook quality to the design, and the colors are quite cheerful. Even though the moon is shown only half full, the snow all around must make it bright enough to enjoy the magical view, and there are prominent shadows on the two figures. There are today 18 ski areas that make Shiga Kogen one of Japan’s premier winter resorts. This view looks like it could be from what is now the Shiga Kogen Ski Resort. There was a hotel known from postcards from ca. 1940 known as “Hotel Shiga Heights” that was surrounded by hills; sports included a ski lift, ski jump and toboggan slide from its location on a plateau surrounded by lakes and birch forests. It is not known if this view was from the hotel itself, but it is perhaps possible. It was replaced with more modern hotels after the war.
The artist Asaji Kobayashi was trained as a physician and became an opthamologist, and he competed in the painting event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. (It is news to this dealer that art competitions were part of the Olympic program from 1912 to 1948.)
More than thirty sosaku-hanga print artists collaborated to create this series of prints, published between 1938-41, as regional conflicts eventually ignited into World War II. Only 39 were ever issued; the last 29 were edited by Maekawa Senpan. According to the Art Gallery of New South Wales website, publication of this series was stopped by the Japanese authorities during WWII who feared that the interior of Japan would become known to its enemies. This would not be surprising given the paranoia of wartime, but it is also probable that there were other factors, including limited supplies and artists conscripted into the war machine.
The series title is stamped on the right margin in red, and the name of the artist’s group “Nihon Hanga Kyokai sen” ("Selected by the Japanese Print Association") is stamped lower left.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Never framed. The artist’s name has been written in pencil lower right margin, but it is not known if this was written by the artist himself.
Literature: See British Museum website for whole series, although many have no photographs. See Carnegie Museum of Art Collection. Dimensions: 25 x 32.8 cm Sealed: Artist's seal, in red, lower right
SKU: SNH015
