{"product_id":"shigeru-matsunaga-栗山茂-lake-ashi-in-early-autumn-ashi-no-ko","title":"Shigeru Matsunaga (Kuriyama) 栗山茂: Lake Ashi in Early Autumn (Ashi no ko)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArtist: \u003c\/strong\u003eShigeru Matsunaga 栗山茂 (1912-2010)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitle: \u003c\/strong\u003eLake Ashi in Early Autumn (Ashi no ko)  \u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e1940, April\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeries:\u003c\/strong\u003e 100 Views of New Japan 新日本百景 (Shin Nihon Hyakkei)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTextured lake water echoes the texture of the sky, with Mount Fuji’s unmistakable cone rising in the distance. This work is charmingly stylized, with several perspectives that are at play at the same time. Ashi-no-ko (Lake of Reeds) in Kanagawa Prefecture is also known as Lake Hakone. As Smith (1994)\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003enotes, the emphasis on the reeds at lower left that are bent by the wind bring to mind the last line of many autumn haiku poems, “The Winds of Autumn”. He feels that the somber, if not bleak, feeling of the scene, may represent the artist’s apprehension about future events, as winds were blowing towards full-blown war, and the termination of this series in 1941. This dealer sees something more like the calm before the storm, and the parts of Japan that will remain steady and timeless, like this scene. References to autumn winds are of course rather wistful by nature, as they portend the coming of winter and a time of greater natural bleakness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eShigeru Matsunaga was from Shizuoka, where he workedas a junior high and high school teacher teacher.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eHe cofounded Dodosha, a local Sosaku hanga group in 1929 and apparently studied with Onchi and Hiratsuka beginning in 1932. Kuriyama changed his family name to Matsunaga in 1937, reverting back to Kuriyama in 1982. He was apparently in Manchuria and China between 1939 and 1948, so he must have contributed this design prior to his departure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eMore 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe series title is stamped on the right margin in red, and the name of the artist’s group “Nihon Hanga Kyokai Sen” is stamped lower left. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcellent impression, color and condition. \u003c\/span\u003eNever 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. Two light wrinkles in right margin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLiterature: \u003c\/strong\u003eSee British Museum website.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 25.2 x 33.2 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecm\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Shigeru Matsunaga","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42649794609234,"sku":"SNH033","price":950.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0079\/3388\/6546\/files\/SNH033.jpg?v=1787764876","url":"https:\/\/egenolfgallery.com\/products\/shigeru-matsunaga-%e6%a0%97%e5%b1%b1%e8%8c%82-lake-ashi-in-early-autumn-ashi-no-ko","provider":"Egenolf Gallery Japanese Prints","version":"1.0","type":"link"}