50s Japanese Woodblock Print Lantern under Cherry Blossoms Kotozuka Eiichi (MoP)

Up for sale from a recent client in Honolulu Hawaii this 1950s Japanese color woodblock print of unknown title depicting a illuminated lantern under a flowering cherry blossom branch and was created by the well known artist Eiichi Kotozuka (琴塚 英一, 1906-1981). The print was published by the Uchida company. The condition is described above - for more information please check the photos.

Measurements:

Print 15.5 inches x 10.75 inches

Sheet 17.5 inches x 11.75 inches

More about the artist:

Eiichi Kotozuka (琴塚 英一, Kotozuka Eiichi, 1906 - 1 October 1981) was a 20th-century Japanese commercial artist and woodblock printmaker. He was a prolific artist of the sōsaku-hanga style. He was one of four artists who co-founded the print publishing company Koryokusha. He was noted for his prints of Japanese cultural traditions, flowers, landscapes, and wildlife.

Kotozuka was born in Osaka in 1906.[1] He was a member of the Seiryusha Group of Liberal Artists.[2]

Kotozuka was an adherent of the sosaku hanga style of illustration, which emphasized a print process with greater direct artist involvement, resulting in a somewhat more crude illustration, but one with stronger emotional impact. Prior to sosaku hanga, an artist would create an illustration which would be passed to a team of engravers, printers, and publishers who would each control the production of the final print. In sosaku hanga, the artist was directly involved with each step.[3]

Condition: 

The print is overall in good pre-owned condition, with even toning throughout, some mounting tape residue on the verso