Details

Tsuchiya Koitsu left a diverse body of work, but a common thread found throughout his designs is a masterful use of light and shadow. In this print, published by Watanabe, the artist portrays the excitement of an evening of cherry blossom viewing under streetlights.

The scene is full of activity, but the active agent in the design is the artist’s treatment of light. The light emanating from a vendor’s stall spills out into the dark park, joining the excited children that frolic toward the blossoming trees. Under the streetlights, the trees bloom a deeper hue, appearing light lavender and a deep purple. The cherry blossoms are printed with a soft or fuzzy registration that effectively captures a flickering type of light emanating from the streetlights below.

Connoisseur's Note

This early, first state bears the Watanabe B-type seal at the lower right margin. This work is exceedingly rare as it was not published after the war. The print is in an exceedingly fine state of preservation with sharp and vivid colors—one of the finest first state impressions of this design known.