Description
Image size: 11.1 X 9ches. Each, signed with the artist's red ink seal, printed on Japan, kozo Japan paper, 11.6 X 10.3 inch sheet. Fine condition. Free shipping to US address. (nt sff-c-rt) Note: Note: Tomikichiro Tokuriki (徳力富吉郎, March 22, 1902 - 1999) was born in Kyoto, Japan, & the 12th generation of a Kyoto artisan family designated as the official Kyoto print artists for the famous Honganji Temple. First taught by his grandfather, he entered the Kyoto School of Arts & Crafts with a two-year preparatory class & four years of regular training, & later a three year training at the Kyoto College of Art, graduating from Kyoto Art College in 1923. While still at college, the young artist discovered his passion for sosaku hanga prints - a movement that had spread from Tokyo to Kyoto. With the assistance of an old carver & an Ukiyo-e printer, Tomikichiro Tokuriki learned everything to master the complete process of design, carving & printing himself. He produced many sets of prints before & during the Pacific War based on traditional subjects, such as 'Shin Kyoto fukei' ('New View of Kyoto', 1933-4), which also included designs by Asada Benji & Asano Takeji, & 'Tokyo hakkei' ('Eight Views of Tokyo', 1942). Most of these were published by Uchida of Kyoto, but after the war Tokuriki set up his own publishing company called Matsukyu, which also began to teach block-carving to artisans & artists, in later years many of them foreigners. in 1948 he also set up a sub-company called Koryokusha consisting of artists who would produce their prints under the financial umbrella of Matsukyu. Later he joined the Hanga Association & met other artists of the sosaku hanga movement like Hiratsuka, Masao Maeda, Kihachiro Shimozawa, Hide Kawanishi & Shiko Munakata. Tokuriki Tomikichiro produced two lines of prints: there were the sosaku hanga prints, meaning creative prints, which were his real passion, & then there were pastel-like shin-hanga prints in soft colors with scenes of Japanese landscape & famous places, the prints for which he is more popularly known. "I'd rather do nothing but creative prints, but after all, I sell maybe ten of them against two hundred for a publisher-artisan print." While the artist published his creative hanga-style prints himself, the artisan-prints were published by Uchida, Unsodo & other Kyoto publishers. (source: Moonlit Sea) Tomikichiro Tokuriki | Japanese, 1902-1999, "Two Fujis", Ca. 1970, Polychrome Woodblock Print, Signed With Seals
