A parent and small child carrying a lantern take in the city lights by night at Ueno Park in Tokyo. Ueno Park is a spacious public park in the Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1873 on lands formerly belonging to the temple of Kan’ei-ji, it is one of Japan’s first public parks, founded a year after Yellowstone National Park was established as the first national park in the United States. Ueno Park is celebrated in spring for its cherry blossoms and hanami festivals. In this woodblock Shoda Koho captures the scene of a parent and child taking in the cityscape by night, reflected in the waterways of the park, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky. This specific piece is a variation of the woodblock included in Hasegawa’s Night Scenes. This woodblock is printed in the chirimen-gami-e technique and has a slightly different composition than the print included in the Series (pictured here). Ueno Park by Shoda Koho. The version of Ueno Park by Shoda Koho typically included in Hasegawa’s Night Scenes. Chirimen-gami-e or chirimengami-e (“compressed thread paper prints”) were crinkled paper prints or “crepe/crepon” prints. Ukiyo-e crepe prints were produced at least as early as 1800 in Edo and were used on occasion for alternate states of some ukiyo-e designs. The compression technique resulted in a highly textured surface and noticeably smaller paper sizes, which offered a different aesthetic from the image printed in standard editions. A noticeable side effect of the technique is the retained richness and vibrancy of the colors. Despite the extra effort involved in making these prints, they were, it seems, more a novelty than an attempt at serious refinement of the printed image. There was a revival of chirimen-gami-e production in the 1880s with the advent of crepe-paper books to satisfy a growing Western market. As seen by comparing the two images, the composition has been modified. The trees on the left are in a different order, the child has switched sides with the adult, the skyline is different, and the coloring is significantly enhanced in the chirimen-gami-e version. This woodblock print by Shoda Koho is in pristine condition. The colors are very rich without any blemishes on the plate. In the bottom right margin is an ink smudge that we’ve seen on other identical prints, leading us to believe that it was a result of the printing process (such as removing the print from the plate or the inking itself). Solid bleed-through of the ink into the verso. A tiny bit of residual paper in the top corners from where the print was likely tipped onto a folio or board for sale. Regarding the size, as mentioned this technique shrinks the image; whereas the normal image was most likely Chuban-sized (7×10″), the resulting print is approximately 6.5″x8.5. This movement was influenced by European Impressionism and its imagery focused on landscapes, women, and nature. The item “SHODA KOHO Ueno Park (rare chirimen-gami-e) antique Japanese woodblock print” is in sale since Monday, November 9, 2020. This item is in the category “Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Prints”. The seller is “dkutcher” and is located in Easthampton, Massachusetts. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Dominican republic, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, El salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Antigua and barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Montserrat, Turks and caicos islands, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Peru, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Viet nam, Uruguay, Russian federation.
- Region of Origin: Japan
- Primary Material: Paper
- Age: 1900-1940
- Featured Refinements: Japanese Woodblock Print
- Type: Paintings, Scrolls & Prints
- Original/Reproduction: Antique Original
