Pictures of Famous Places in Osaka and Kobe - Terrific design from a rare Taisho era group of illustrated travel prints. The series consists of 30 prints depicting landscapes and activities in the Hanshin area, which includes Osaka and Kobe. They were initially released in groups of 5 prints in a folder, with a title page featuring a map detailing the locations of the images. The prints are dated 1916, but were published in 1917 by Kanao Tanejiro of Bun'en-do. He employed five different artists who worked as illustrators for the Osaka Asahi Shinbun newspaper, each with a distinctive style. The artists are Akamatsu Rinsaku (1878 - 1953), Noda Kyuho (1879 - 1971), Hata Tsuneharu (1883 - ? ), Mizushima Nihou (or Nihofu) (1884 - 1958) and Nagai Hyosai Nishimura (1882 - 1945).

These lovely subjects include farmers going about their daily work, crowds along a pier lined with boats, local scenery and farmhouses, and a family taking a break for lunch in the countryside. These attractive and unusual designs are a wonderful choice for a shin hanga collector. The blocks for the series and all remaining unsold prints were destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, making these examples extremely rare. We've never come across this remarkable series before.

Artist - Mizushima Nihou (or Nihofu) (1884 - 1958)

Image Size - 11 1/2" x 7 1/4" + margins as shown

Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Faint toning. Some prints have slight soiling. Please see photos for details. Generally in nice condition overall.