Kishio Koizumi

1893-1945

One Hundred Pictures of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era: Kameido Tenjin Shrine in May (no. 28, revised)
(Showa dai Tokyo hyakuzue: Gogatsu no kameido tenjin)

self-carved, self-printed; signed within the composition, Izumi in kanji and KOIZUMI KISIO in block Roman letters, print title on the upper left margin in black, Gogatsu no kameido tenjin, followed by the red seal, kai shinpan (revised new version), the series title on the right margin, Showa dai Tokyo hyakuzue, dated and numbered, hanga kanseiban, dai jugonen gogatsu saku, nijuhachi kei (complete print series, 15th year [1940], 5th month, no. 28), and signed in pencil, Koizumi Kishio, 1940

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

From 1939-1940, Koizumi revised nine designs, carving entirely different compositions, and bringing the total to 109 woodblock prints. It is unknown why Koizumi created substitute designs for the series, it may have been due to production issues such as damage to blocks, or perhaps he was not satisfied with some of the designs. This composition is one of the revised views, replacing the earlier print titled Wisteria Flower and Taiko Bridge at Kameido Tenjin Shrine issued in May 1932.

Koizumi commented on this design in the annotated index with fondness: From olden times this shrine was famous for its wisteria blossoms and for kuzumochi (arrowroot starch cake). But even more famous is the night scene where a bar features famous brands of sake.

Reference:
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)
(inv. no. 10-5629)

offered as a set

price: (reserved)