Showa Bijo Sugata Kurabe: Benisomezuki, Shusho [Competing Beauties of the Showa Era: The Eighth Month, Lingering Heat]

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Shōwa Bijo Sugata Kurabe: Benisomezuki, Shūsho [Competing Beauties of the Shōwa Era: The Eighth Month, Lingering Heat]

[Watanabe], Ikuharu [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. early Shōwa period (1927-1930?)].

A beautiful woman attempts to keep cool in this attractive dai-ōban print by Watanabe Ikuharu (1895–1975). The beauty holds a karazuri (blind-embossed) uchiwa fan in one hand and sits with her kimono deliberately slipped from one shoulder, a gesture that suggests the lingering heat of late summer. The term benisomezuki in the title refers to the eighth month (August) of the traditional Japanese calendar, while shūsho means "Autumn heat". Known primarily for his work in the shin-hanga tradition, the artist Ikuharu studied Nihonga under Mizutani Hōnen in Nagoya before moving to Tokyo in 1917 and Kyoto in 1922. This print belongs to Shōwa Bijo Sugata Kurabe (Competing Beauties of the Shōwa Era), his best-known series. Each of the twelve designs in the series was printed with a mica background, which tends to discolour over time, and examples in good condition are now rarely encountered. While this example exhibits foxing, it is nevertheless a good impression from this increasingly scarce series by Ikuharu.

One dai-ōban tate-e, woodblock-printed on one side, complete. Foxing, light browning, and small marks. Minor oxidisation to lips. 41.1 x 27.2 cm.

Showa Bijo Sugata Kurabe: Benisomezuki, Shusho [Competing Beauties of the Showa Era: The Eighth Month, Lingering Heat]
Price: $1,800.00 (USD)