Designer: Tsuchimochi Shinji | Publisher: Miyakodori Publishing | Date: 2023

Paper size: 28cm by 19cm | Enlargement | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: $ 180.00£ 140.00€ 165.00

Description: Mokuhankan Note: Following in the footsteps of Shin-hanga designers of the early 1900s, the young publisher Takashi Kashiwagi has sought to reinvigorate the mokuhanga world with a new concept. Kashiwagi-san’s great-grandfather ran a teahouse on the Sumida River in Tokyo, where he also worked as a printer for Ukiyo-e and Shin-hanga prints about a century ago. That teahouse was named Miyakodori, and Kashiwagi-san wanted to invoke the memory of his great-grandfather as he embarks on his own printmaking venture 100 years later.

For these new Reiwa Shin-hanga prints, Kashiwagi-san is experimenting with new techniques, and is using an industrial laser engraver to cut the outlines on the wood, with the wider clearing being done by hand.

Notes from the designer: For the second work in the "Tokyo Four Seasons" series, I painted a scene of the Sumida River Fireworks Festival, recalling the fireworks depicted by ukiyo-e artist Kobayashi Kiyochika in the Meiji era.

The contrast between the glittering fireworks and the silhouettes of the onlookers evokes a strange nostalgia. When I walked along Komagata Bridge and looked at this scene, I realized that although the city and its people have completely changed since the Meiji period, the style and customs of Edo remain unchanged.

I would be happy if you could look at my work and feel as if you were fondly remembering the passing summer.

Notes from the publisher: Sumida River and Kobayashi Kiyochika had a close relationship with Miyakodori, and several woodblocks depicting the view of Mt. Matsuchi from Miyakodori teahouse remain.

At that time, Miyakodori teahouse was a popular place for cherry blossom viewing, and Kiyochika must have visited there during the Sumida River fireworks display. I created this work with a sense of the mysterious repetition of history.