75 Shōda Kōhō 1875 – 1946 Egret in the Rain

Japan, 1910s–1930s (shin-hanga movement)

This delicate sheet is another work by Shoda Koho, a student of the master Ogata Gekko and a prominent artist of the shin-hanga ("New Prints") movement. For the third time in this collection, the artist masterfully works with the extremely narrow 3 by 13.5-inch ko-tanzaku format. As is typical for these pillar prints (hashira-e), their proportions originated from traditional Japanese architecture, where they were hung on narrow structural posts. The scene brilliantly captures a snowy egret taking refuge from the driving rain in the branches of a tall tree, patiently waiting for the downpour to pass. The print bears the Hasegawa catalog number 1569 and originates from the series "Japanese Scenes on Tanzaku". The sheet is in excellent condition, with strong colors and no fading or discoloration. A highly interesting collector's anomaly of this specific impression is the presence of margins on two of its four sides, which is an absolute exception for this format. The publisher's stamp is present on the verso.