Kishio Koizumi

1893-1945

One Hundred Pictures of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era: View of Hyokeikan and the Museum at Ueno (no. 90)
(Showa dai Tokyo hyakuzue: Ueno keshiki hyokeikan to bijutsukan)

self-carved, self-printed; signed and dated within the composition, Izumi in a diamond-shaped seal with stylized kanji, KOIZUMI KISIO, 1937, print title on the upper left margin in black, Ueno keshiki hyokeikan to bijutsukan, the series title on the right margin, Showa dai Tokyo hyakuzue, dated and numbered, hanga, dai juninen shigatsu saku, dai kyuju kei seisaku (print series, 12th year [1937], 4th month, no. 90, made), and signed in pencil, Koizumi Kishio, 1937

dai oban yoko-e 12 by 15 1/2 in., 30.4 by 39.4 cm

In 1928 Kishio Koizumi released the first print of this ambitious series of 100 designs. Entirely self-carved and self-printed, the series would take nine years to complete during a period of rapid expanding and rebuilding of Tokyo and tumultuous political and social change in Japan. Koizumi's views of Tokyo reflected an interest in the modernization of the city while at the same time a sense of nostalgic pride in traditional Japan.

Ueno Hill officially became a public park by Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) in 1873, and was formally gifted to the city of Tokyo in 1924. Famous for its abundant blossoming cherry trees in the spring, there are also shrines, museums, and a zoo. This print features two of the museums: at right is the Tokyo National Museum's Hyokeikan, and at left is the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In the 1940 annotated index Koizumi comments fondly: In the spring, Ueno is filled with beautiful flowers. The zoo, art museums and general museums are all very good.

References:
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Catalogue of Collections: Prints, 1993, p. 137, no. 1272
Lawrence Smith, Modern Japanese Prints 1912-1989, Woodblocks and Stencils, 1994, p. 28 (artist's bio); cat. 13, color plate 12
James T. Ulak et. al, Tokyo: The Imperial Capital, Woodblock Prints by Koizumi Kishio, 2003, p. 81, pl. 39
James T. Ulak, Tokyo Modern-II, Koizumi Kishio's 1940 Annotations on "100 Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era," Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures (visualizingcultures.mit.edu), 2009 (Koizumi translation)
The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, Florida, Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection, no. TD1993.69.1.11
(inv. no. 10-5691)

offered as a set

price: (reserved)