Interestingly there is currently an original copy of this print available for purchase here.

I have quickly put together a comparison of this original copy (left) versus your reproduction of the print (right):

http://i.imgur.com/ZAc1ZOR.png

Gratifyingly, the worn condition of the old blocks is not evident in your print when judged against the original (a testament to the fine work of your printers). There are, however, noticeable differences between the colours used in the printing of corresponding blocks, with yours generally being less saturated. Perhaps the differences are accounted for by variations within the original run? The Doi copy you used as the master for your printing run would be an interesting addition to the comparison above.

Regards,

Nathaniel de Bell

I attempted to comment about the print here a number of weeks ago, but it seems the request failed.

In short, I came across a sale listing of an original print on a dealer's website, and I thought it would be interesting to create a comparison with your print:

http://i.imgur.com/ZAc1ZOR.png

I have found another copy of the print

I suspect that due to the association of koitsu.com with "The Catalogue Raisonne of Tsuchiya Koitsu" (shown in part 1 of your Doi Hanga collaboration videos), this is the version your print is fashioned on.

Testament to the work of your staff, in many respects the prints are quite similar. There are notable small differences, such as the colour of the body of water. Interestingly, the differences between the two original prints are perhaps greater than the differences between your print and the Koitsu.com version.

In all respects, congratulations on your achievement; I hope the prints are selling well.

Nathaniel, thanks for this input. (your posts are being trapped by spam filtering because they have so many links ...)

When Ayumi-san and I were making the final decisions on how to proceed with this one, we looked at many other versions (of course including the one you show). There was no single version that we tried to 'reproduce', but we tried to find our own nice balance of the varied colours and tones. We also wanted to keep ours fairly 'quiet', as many of the postwar Doi prints are pretty garish sometimes.