Shiro - Born in Tokyo, Shiro Kasamatsu began studying art at a young age with the painter Kaburagi Kiyokata. He completed his first woodblock designs for Watanabe Shozaburo in 1919 after the publisher saw his paintings on exhibit. Shiro designed shin-hanga prints for Watanabe for many years, becoming well known for his romantic landscapes of famous landmarks and his scenes of traditional Japanese life. From 1952 to 1960, he created more than one hundred woodblock designs for the Kyoto publisher Unsodo. He also experimented with sosaku hanga or creative prints starting in the late 1950s, carving and printing his own designs. Shiro is regarded as one of the top shin-hanga woodblock print artists in Japan.

Comments - Handsome view of the Kikyomon or Kikyo Gate at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. A tower rises high above the stone embankment, a few birds fluttering above the water of the moat at lower left. Graceful tree branches frame the scene, with another tower visible in the distance. An attractive design.

Signed - Shiro within image at upper right, with red artist's seal
Publisher - Unsodo, with publisher's seal in left margin, later edition

Artist - Shiro Kasamatsu (1898 - 1991)

Image Size - 14 3/8" x 9 1/2" + margins as shown

Condition - Excellent overall with no issues to report.