Lot description
Hasui Kawase (Japan 1883-1957) Tamiya Village , Saitama ukiyo-e woodblock print- plate 9.5 x 14" 16.5 x 21.5 x 1" as framed. Hasui traveled widely in Japan and his subjects consisted mostly of his surroundings. Hasui Kawase's Japanese landscape prints are based upon small, quick sketches and watercolors taken from nature. Unfortunately, during the earthquake of 1923, all of his woodblocks and over 200 sketches were destroyed. The works that predate this event are extremely scarce and in great demand today. Undaunted, Hasui continued to produce his landscape prints. In 1956, the Japanese government’s Committee for the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage designated Hasui's Zojo Temple in Snow and the documentation of its production as Intangible Cultural Treasures, the greatest artistic honor in postwar Japan.