Tokushi Katsuhira 勝平得之: Oga Peninsula (Akita) (SOLD)

Artist: Tokushi Katsuhira 勝平得之 (1904-1971)
Title: Oga Peninsula (Akita)
Date: 1939, March
Series:  100 Views of New Japan

Tokushi Katsuhira was a self-taught artist who came from a tradition of doll carving and papermaking. Most of his later works show local people engaged in the traditions and customs of his native Akita, so this work is quite singular in its rendering of pure landscape in this rugged style. Its unusual nature and the beauty of the printmaking must be the reason that Sekino kept it in his private collection. Provenance: Sekino Family Collection. The Oga Peninsula is known for its rugged terrain; it projects west into the Sea of Japan from the coast of Akita in northern Honshu.

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.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: 24.8 x 32.2 cm
Publisher: Self-printed by the artist

SKU: TKC015S