# Shiro Kasamatsu artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/shiro-kasamatsu/
Profile generated: 2026-05-02T01:34:09.703Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Japanese
- Movements: Shin-Hanga, Sōsaku-Hanga
- Common media: woodblock printing

## About Shiro Kasamatsu

Shiro Kasamatsu (1898–1991) was a Japanese printmaker, engraver, painter, and illustrator whose career spanned two of the most important modern Japanese printmaking traditions. His art name was 笠松紫浪 (Kasamatsu Shiro), while his real name was 笠松四郎 (Kasamatsu Shirō). Active during a transformative era for Japanese graphic arts, Kasamatsu trained and produced work in both the Shin-Hanga ("new prints") and Sōsaku-Hanga ("creative prints") styles of woodblock printing. The Shin-Hanga movement relied on collaboration between designer, carver, and printer, while Sōsaku-Hanga emphasized the artist's direct control over every stage of production. Kasamatsu's ability to work across both philosophies makes his body of work distinctive among twentieth-century Japanese printmakers. With over 1,400 works documented in auction records, he is a frequently encountered artist for collectors of modern Japanese prints.

## Common works and media

Kasamatsu's documented output consists primarily of woodblock prints created in both the Shin-Hanga collaborative tradition and the self-carved Sōsaku-Hanga manner. His prints are typically executed on washi paper. With 1,461 works appearing in auction records, the breadth of his body of work suggests a range of subjects and formats. Collectors may also encounter his illustrations in published books, as noted in Library of Congress authority records.

## Market and appraisal context

Shiro Kasamatsu's work trades in an active and liquid international auction market. Appraisily auction records index 477 lots with 395 carrying realized prices, spanning from April 1993 through March 2026. Volume has been remarkably stable: 51 lots in the most recent twelve months versus 52 in the prior twelve-month window, indicating consistent collector demand and steady supply. The price distribution shows a wide but accessible range: a floor of $25, a 25th percentile at $160, a median of $275, a 75th percentile at $450, and a ceiling of $4,826. The bulk of transactions cluster between approximately $160 and $600 USD, making Kasamatsu an approachable entry point for collectors of modern Japanese woodblock prints, with exceptional impressions or sought-after Shin-Hanga subjects commanding meaningfully higher prices. Sales are dispersed across specialist and generalist auction houses, with Eldred's, Floating World Auctions, Christie's, and Woodblock Prints World appearing most frequently. Recent titled lots reference well-known subjects such as Shinobazu Pond (night rain and rainy evening variants), Nikko Sacred Bridge, Yanaka Pagoda, Rice Planting, and Garden of a Zen Temple, suggesting that iconic landscape and temple views form the core of his traded output.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Shiro Kasamatsu's work trades in an active and liquid international auction market. Appraisily auction records index 477 lots with 395 carrying realized prices, spanning from April 1993 through March 2026. Volume has been remarkably stable: 51 lots in the most recent twelve months versus 52 in the prior twelve-month window, indicating consistent collector demand and steady supply. The price distribution shows a wide but accessible range: a floor of $25, a 25th percentile at $160, a median of $275, a 75th percentile at $450, and a ceiling of $4,826. The bulk of transactions cluster between approximately $160 and $600 USD, making Kasamatsu an approachable entry point for collectors of modern Japanese woodblock prints, with exceptional impressions or sought-after Shin-Hanga subjects commanding meaningfully higher prices. Sales are dispersed across specialist and generalist auction houses, with Eldred's, Floating World Auctions, Christie's, and Woodblock Prints World appearing most frequently. Recent titled lots reference well-known subjects such as Shinobazu Pond (night rain and rainy evening variants), Nikko Sacred Bridge, Yanaka Pagoda, Rice Planting, and Garden of a Zen Temple, suggesting that iconic landscape and temple views form the core of his traded output.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use these 477 indexed auction records as a comparable-sale foundation when appraising a Shiro Kasamatsu woodblock print. The appraiser would compare the submitted work against recent lots of similar subject, size, and period (Shin-Hanga versus Sōsaku-Hanga), adjusting the price-range estimate based on impression quality, color saturation, condition (foxing, fading, trimming, toning), the presence and clarity of the artist's seal and signature, publisher marks (particularly Watanabe or Unsodo seals for Shin-Hanga works), edition indicators, and documented provenance. The median of $275 and interquartile range of $160–$450 provide a practical benchmark for standard-condition works; outliers above $1,000 and the recorded maximum of $4,826 illustrate the premium that early impressions, rare subjects, or exceptional condition can command. Multi-currency results (USD, CHF, GBP) in the record set should be normalized at prevailing exchange rates at the time of appraisal. The appraiser would also verify that the print is an original impression rather than a later re-strike or reproduction, a known issue in the modern Japanese woodblock market.

### Valuation factors

- Movement period: Shin-Hanga works published by Watanabe Shozaburo or Unsodo typically carry a premium over later self-carved Sōsaku-Hanga prints, though the latter have a distinct collector following
- Condition: foxing, fading, trimming (especially if margins are removed), toning, and creasing directly affect value; unrestored prints with full margins are most desirable
- Impression quality: early impressions with crisp lines and saturated color are worth substantially more than later, worn impressions from the same blocks
- Subject recognition: iconic views such as Shinobazu Pond, Nikko Sacred Bridge, and Yanaka Pagoda appear repeatedly in auction records and tend to attract competitive bidding
- Publisher seals and carver/printer marks: verifiable Watanabe or Unsodo seals support attribution to the Shin-Hanga period and add value
- Edition size and printing order: limited editions or documented early pull numbers command premiums
- Provenance: documented exhibition history or prior ownership by a recognized collection can elevate value beyond comparable auction results
- Currency and market: approximately 17% of recent priced lots sold in CHF and GBP rather than USD; cross-currency normalization is necessary for accurate comparison

### Collector notes

- Kasamatsu's auction market is broad and accessible. With a median price near $275 USD, his prints represent one of the more affordable entry points for collectors of twentieth-century Japanese woodblock art, especially when compared to contemporaries like Kawase Hasui or Yoshida Hiroshi. The stable annual volume of roughly 50 lots per year means that comparable works come to market regularly, which supports both buying and eventual resale liquidity. Collectors should focus on impression quality and condition above all else — the difference between a crisp, unfaded early impression and a tired, trimmed later print can be a factor of three to five in realized price. Specialist auction houses such as Floating World Auctions and Woodblock Prints World frequently offer Kasamatsu lots and are good venues to monitor. Iconic Shin-Hanga subjects (temple gates, pond views, garden scenes) tend to hold value best. When purchasing, verify the publisher seal and confirm the work is not a posthumous reproduction; the market for Japanese woodblock prints includes undated re-strikes that can be difficult to distinguish from originals without close examination of paper, ink, and block-wear characteristics.

### Market caveats

- Price data reflects auction results only and does not capture private sales, gallery retail, or online marketplace transactions, which may differ significantly.
- Some recent lots sold in CHF and GBP; all statistical measures (median, quartiles, min, max) mix currencies without normalization, so the stated dollar figures are approximate composites rather than pure-USD medians.
- A portion of recent lots (e.g., JG Auction, February 2026) show no realized price, indicating either unsold lots or results not yet reported; the actual transaction rate may be slightly lower than the lot count suggests.
- Later re-strikes, posthumous printings, and reproductions of popular Japanese woodblock prints exist in the market. A professional appraisal should verify authenticity through paper, ink, block-wear, seal, and signature analysis.
- The 'top auction houses' list reflects frequency of appearance in the indexed records, which is influenced by cataloging partnerships and may not perfectly represent market share by value.
- Category classification in auction records is sparse; most lots are not assigned a formal category beyond the medium, so the true distribution across subject types (landscape, figural, still life) cannot be determined from the available data.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/shiro-kasamatsu/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kasamatsu-shiro-nikko-sacred-bridge-woodblock-598-c-6fd4396a4e
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kasamatsu-shiro-evening-sky-suwa-shrine-woodblock-569-c-7b04dc7981
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-japanese-woodblock-print-shiro-kasamatsu-100-c-8b58d667ed
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-japanese-woodblock-print-shiro-kasamatsu-99-c-e9a47739d7
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-japanese-woodblock-print-shiro-kasamatsu-98-c-dc04e2c6cc
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-japanese-woodblock-print-shiro-kasamatsu-97-c-a86f997f6b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-japanese-woodblock-print-shiro-kasamatsu-96-c-b21b5e7958
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-shiro-kasamatsu-1898-1991-4041-c-49e8bf0f21
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-shiro-kasamatsu-1898-1991-rice-planting-6917-c-bf3a739b1f
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-shiro-kasamatsu-tea-ceremony-in-early-spring-beauty-194-c-86e7b85476
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-kasamatsu-shiro-yanaka-pagoda-woodblock-print-163-c-1abd5c58a8

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from library authority files (including VIAF, Library of Congress, and Wikidata), encyclopedic sources, and scholarly references with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3482366
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiro_Kasamatsu
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/1676014/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n93008263
- Getty Research Institute: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500332085