Artist: Kishio Koizumi (1893-1945)
Title: The Former Imperial Palace at Aoyama (Aoyama Kyu Gyosho) Date: 1931
The Aoyama Palace built as a temporary residence for Emperor Meiji in the 1870s; in 1931 it was the was residence of Emperor Hirohito’s brother, Prince Chichibu (1902-1953). The stone wall is fronted by a period lamp, and several trees are seen near the entrance to the compound. We see three uniformed watchmen guarding the gate. As noted on the MIT website: “This image resonates with the renewed emphasis placed on the sanctity of the imperial reign during the 1930s.” There seem to be two versions of this work, with only slight variations. This work has all of the series information in the right column (instead of the left column), and the artist’s signature and date in the left corner are written completely differently than the other version; it also lack’s the artist’s seal. This dealer would surmise that this is the earlier version. This is the same version that is in the Wolfsonian collection.
Koizumi wrote in the 1940 annotated index: In this compound in proximity were Omiya Place, the residence for Prince Chichibu and a residence for the Crown Prince.
Koizumi Kishio self-published 100 designs in this very interesting series, although it took nine years to complete after the first work was published in 1928. In general the designs are very strong, and have a fresh perspective that is distinctive to this series. These works were sold by subscription club, which the artist declared to be limited to 50 members. Right margin bears title, with date. Koizumi was guided by Tobari Kogan, and was one of only two sosaku-hanga artists (the other being Hiratsuka Un-ichi) to have received extensive training in block carving from professional block-carvers.
Series: Great Tokyo in the Showa Era 昭和大東京百図絵版画
Dimensions: 30 x 39.4 cm
Condition: Excellent impression and color; very good condition. WIth a fine layer of deluxe mica in the sky Signature: Izumi in kanji and Koizumi Kisio in block Roman letters.
References: James T. Ulak et. al, Tokyo: The Imperial Capital, Woodblock Prints by Koizumi Kishio, 2003, p. 51, pl. 9; James T. Ulak, Tokyo Modern-II, Koizumi Kishio's 1940 Annotations on "100 Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era," Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures (visualizingcultures.mit.edu), 2009 (Koizumi translation); The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, Florida, Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection, no. TD1993.69.1.89.
SKU: KZK015
