1883-1957
Eight Views of Korea: Pulguk Temple, Kyongju
(Chosen hakkei: Keishu Bukkokuji)
evening view of figure in temple yard, the print title on the left margin, Keishu Bukkokuji, followed by the date, Showa juyonen kugatsu saku (Showa 14, September), signed Hasui, with publisher's (Hotei 'F') seal on lower right margin, Hanmoto Tokyo Ginza Watanabe mokuhan gaten (Publisher Watanabe woodblock print shop, Ginza, Tokyo), 1939
dai oban tate-e 16 5/8 by 11 1/2 in., 42.2 by 29.1 cm
The eight prints in this series were the result of a trip Hasui took to Korea in 1939 in the company of fellow-artists Ikegami Shuho (1874-1944), Yazawa Gengetsu (1886-1952), Nagata Shunsui (1889-1970) and Yamakawa Shuho (1898-1944). Curiously, the series was published by Naito Seifu of the Osaka-based publishing house Kansai Bijutsusha, but produced by Watanabe in a slightly wider than standard dai oban format. Although there is no customary artist's seal, the series itself never had a series title on the prints.
This nocturnal view is of Pulgak Temple, originally built in the mid-8th century and located in Kyongju (previously known as Saro), the capital of the Silla Kingdom (668-935). When Hasui visited the famous site, the buildings he saw dated from the Choson period up to the modern era.
Reference:
Kendall H. Brown, Kawase Hasui: The Complete Woodblock Prints, 2003, no. 432
(inv. no. 10-0675)
price: Sold