Japanese Woodblock Prints

Japanese Woodblock Prints

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 76. Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) | Three variants of Sailboats (Hansen) | Taisho period, early 20th century.

Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) | Three variants of Sailboats (Hansen) | Taisho period, early 20th century

Lot Closed

December 19, 02:15 PM GMT

Estimate

3,000 - 4,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) 

Three variants of Sailboats (Hansen)

Showa period, 20th century


each a woodblock print, from the series Inland Sea (Seto Naikai shu), signed in Japanese Yoshida, and in printed in Roman script Hiroshi Yoshida, sealed Hiroshi, titled in the lower left margin, dated Taisho jugonen saku (made in 1926), posthumous printings, and comprising:


- Sailboats: Morning (Hansen, asa)

- Sailboats: Forenoon (Hansen, gozen)

- Sailboats: Night (Hansen, yoru)


Each vertical dai oban:

55.5 x 39.7 cm., 21⅞ x 15⅝ in. (the first)

54 x 40.2 cm., 21¼ x 15⅞ in. (the second)

53.7 x 38.4 cm., 21⅛ x 15⅛ in. (the third)

This present design exists in six variants, each denoting a time of day or weather condition: Sailboats: MorningSailboats: ForenoonSailboats: Afternoon, Sailboats: MistSailboats: Evening and Sailboats: Night. Three works depicting boats at sail in the Seto Inland Sea (Seto naikai) were previously published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962) earlier than this series, however, the blocks for these were burned amidst the destruction of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1st September 1923.1


When Yoshida returned to this subject, he used a larger print size and experimented with variant printings. The breadth of expression achieved by Yoshida’s alternate printings in these works was highly praised at the time.2


In Sailing Boats: Night, an added block for the harbour lights and their watery reflections are seen in the distance. The suggestion of a further sail is faintly silhouetted along the horizon line. Overall, tonalities of purplish-blue graduates across the entire design through the use of bokashi. No doubt, the technicality and exact rendering of the effects caused by different times of day and weather on light contributed to the series' success at the time. Nonetheless, the enduring sentiment of passage and repose, which embody the themes of journeying and travel so intrinsic to Yoshida’s work, certainly added to its appeal.


For further reference on the different variants of this design, see Carolyn M. Putney et al., Fresh Impressions: Early Modern Japanese Prints (Ohio, 2013) 266-d – 266-I, cat nos. 257-262.


1. Ogura Tadao et al., The Complete Woodblock Prints of Yoshida Hiroshi, (Tokyo, 1987) ps. 56-60, nos. 40-45.