Japanese Woodblock Print, 1929, published by Fusui Gabo, from the "Fuji in the Four Seasons" series

SIZE IN INCHES: oban, 15.5 x 10.5 inches

COMMENTS: Extremely rare design by Hiroaki. Seldom seen in any condition. The publisher, Fusui Gabo, was active from 1924 through 1941. They were known for particularly fine reproductions of classic ukiyo-e and for Hiroaki's oban-size prints, which were created without the constraints of Shozoburo Watanabe's commercial tastes. Hiroaki's (Shotei's) prints published by Fusui Gabo are thought to be solely his own creations. During the bombing of Tokyo in WWII the building housing Fusui Gabo was destroyed along with the woodblocks and inventory extant.

In this view of Mt Fuji, the printing of the surface of the mountain is remarkable.

TAKAHASHI SHOTEI (HIROAKI) (1871-1945) was born in Tokyo with the given name of Takahashi Katsutaro. At a young age he was trained in Nihon-ga , the traditional Japanese painting style by his uncle Matsumoto Fuko, and beginning around 1907 Shotei started designing for the Watanabe Color Print Company. Shotei was among the first designers to be recruited into Watanabe's stable of artists, which would later expand to include Goyo, Shinsui, Hasui, Kasamatsu, Koson and Koitsu among others. Many Watanabe prints were designed for export, primarily to North America, where the demand for all things Japanese was high in the early 20th century.By 1923 Shotei had produced nearly 500 designs for Watanabe, when Tokyo was hit by the Great Kanto earthquake -- the worst recorded natural catastrophe in the history of Japan. The fires ignited by the earthquake raged for three days, and Watanabe's print shop and all the woodblocks created by Shotei and the other early shin hanga artists, were destroyed.

After the earthquake Shotei created another 250 prints mostly depicting scenic Japanese landscapes in the shin hanga style he had helped to define. He continued to work for Watanabe, but also worked with the publishers Fusui Gabo and Shobido Tanaka, where he had more control over the finished print than was possible with Watanabe.Shotei used a variety of names, signatures and seals during his lifetime. From 1907 until 1922 he used the name Shotei, and after 1922 Hiroaki and Komei.

VG, minor flaws as shown