Japanese Woodblock Print entitled: Hara Station: Rooftop Reflection of Mount Fuji, from the series New Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō by Sekino Jun'ichirō

Sale price$335.00

Dimensions: 12-5/8” x 18-1/8”

Description: Offered is a Woodblock print rendered in ink and color on paper by the famous Japanese Artist Jun'ichirō Sekino (1914-1998). Sekino is known to be very versatile in his creations and who was always exploring new techniques and subjects. He created a series on rooftops, representing them in unusual and very elaborate compositions, painting a true testimony of traditional Japanese architecture. This unusual and creative concept portraying the Japanese landmark in a peaceful, still and unexpected way focusing on Mt. Fuji in the rooftop tiles on a traditional Japanese home. Hara post town, the thirteenth on the Tokaido, is where Numazu is in Shizuoka today. The name Hara refers to the former name of the wetland – “Ukishima-ga-Hara”, which was said to have the best view of the mighty Mount Fuji on the whole Tokaido.

His best-known work is his modern version of the Tokaidō gojyusan tsuki, (The Fifty-three stations of the Tokaido road, series number: 14), and printed in 1964, of which all similar creations were realized between 1959 and 1974. The piece is signed in ink by the artist bottom right along with a Certificate of Authenticity attached to the back when purchased in 2007.

The war years from 1939 to 1945 were a crucial period for the sōsaku-hanga movement with the creation of the company Ichimokukai  (First Thursday Society). They popularized in the sōsaku-hanga movement the appearance of Western reproduction techniques such as lithography, silkscreen or etching. This helped to revive Western interest in Japanese prints, and to catalog, support and disseminate the works of the movement inside and outside Japan, after the war. Sekino’s versatility in his choice of subjects is a testament to his artistic curiosity, as well as his balanced technique. After World War II he began a series of traditional Japanese roof close-ups. It is a new way to test the limits of composition. This follows an abstract series on lines, forms, shapes, figures. In this series, he offers a new look on an architectural and traditional characteristic, the roof with a bird’s eye view of the roofs of the city, which is probably one of the most beautiful prints made in the second half of the 20th century.

Condition: Excellent meaning that the impression is very fine, skillfully executed having clean front and verso. The piece retains its original craft/workmanship with no major issues to report. (NOTE: The woodblock will come framed at no additional cost  for we are in the business of selling artwork and not framing. The framing which was completed  upon purchase of the woodblock has served its purpose of protecting the piece from damage from sunlight and other environmental conditions.) Meets meets all the standards of the collectible woodblock print works on paper.