Lot 57: Kawanishi Hide (1894-1965)

Saito Kiyoshi (1907-1997) Onchi Koshiro (1891-1955) Maekawa Senpan (1888-1960) Sekino Jun'ichiro (1914-1988) A complete portfolio, including the cover, of the very rare series Nihon jozoku sen [A selection of women's customs in Japan], each print in its original paper mat Kawanishi Hide, Bar Girl in a Port Town Saito Kiyoshi, Girls Trimming Colt's-foot, A Peddler Onichi Koshiro, After the Bath and Cherry-Blossom Time Maekawa Senpan, Maiko [Young Geisha], Oharame [Maid from Ohara] and Tanabata [Star Festival] Sekino Jun'ichiro, Home Life in Winter and Maid of Northern Japan Each approximately 101/4 x 73/4 in. (26 x 19.5 cm.) (10) NOTES This set, published in August 1946, is the last of a series of three, the other two being Tokyo kaiko zue [Recollections of Tokyo] (1945) and Nihon minzoku zufu [A pictorial album of customs of Japan] (March 1946) which represented a sentimental attempt by the Fugaku publishing house (set up by one of the directors of the pre-war publishing house Takamizawa) to capture the last vestiges of the flavour of pre-war Japan before it disappeared under the waves of enforced Western modernity. This set differs from the other two, as in this instance all the designs were original, whereas in the preceding sets some of the images were re-worked versions of pre-war designs.