Title : Chinese woman

Artist : Nishiyama Suishô

Date : 1923

Details : More information...

Source : Japanese Art Open Database
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Description : Nishiyama, Suisho- Chinese woman- 1.jpg is: Fine Japanese Woodblock Print by Suisho Nishiyama (1879-1958). This unusual and superbly printed design is from the celebrated series "Dai Chikamatsu Zenshu" (The Great Collection of Works by Chikamatsu). Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724) is often referred to as the Shakespeare of Japan. He is known to have written 97 drama of which 74 are historical. Many Japanese would be very familiar with the plays. None of the prints in the series has titles, most (as in this example) just have the names of the block cutter and the printer in the bottom margin, it reads "Chokoku Yamagishi Kazue Tezuri Nishimura Kumakichi" (Carved by Kazue and printed by Kumakichi). It is probable that the prints were sold in folders which carried relevant text. The printing is superb, there is much embellishment with gold and silver printing. The print is in perfect condition, no damage, no repairs and no fading. All the paper used on this series is a deeper tone than usual. The prints are larger than the usual oban size at 17 7/8 x 11 1/2 ins. (45.5 x 29 cms). It was just a little too long for our scanner and the photo does not show 1/2 in of the top margin.

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