House at Okutama - Shiro Kasamatsu

Artist: Shiro Kasamatsu (1898–1991)

Title: House at Okutama (Okutama no Ie, 奥多摩の家)

Date: 1955

Medium: Original color woodblock print

Publisher: Unsodo (芸艸堂), Kyoto

Edition: Lifetime impression

Signature: Block-signed Shiro within the image

Marks: Unsodo publisher seal and carver/printer seals in the left margin

Size: 16 X 10.75 in

This original lifetime woodblock print by Shiro Kasamatsu depicts a traditional rural house in Okutama, the mountainous region west of Tokyo. Kasamatsu builds the composition around the heavy tiled roofs and stone retaining wall, with autumn foliage providing restrained flashes of yellow and red against the atmospheric gray mountains beyond.

The Japanese title Okutama no Ie (奥多摩の家), “House in Okutama,” appears in the upper left margin. This impression belongs to Kasamatsu’s postwar period, when he increasingly produced and published his own woodblock prints rather than working through the publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō.

Kasamatsu’s handling of the distant mountains is particularly effective here. Rather than outlining the landscape sharply, he uses a dense, textured gray field that gives the background the appearance of mist or low cloud, while the architectural details of the house remain crisp and graphic in the foreground.

Inscriptions & Marks:

• Japanese title 奥多摩の家 (Okutama no Ie) in the upper left margin
• Artist signature within the image
• Artist/publisher seals in the left margin
• Original Japanese color woodblock print

Condition: Very good overall. The sheet retains full margins with visible deckled edges. Minor toning, handling wear and small areas of discoloration are consistent with age. Colors remain attractive, including strong yellow, red, gray and earthy brown tones. Please review all photographs carefully, as they form part of the condition description.

About the Artist: Shiro Kasamatsu (1898–1991) was an important 20th-century Japanese printmaker associated with both the shin-hanga and sōsaku-hanga movements. He initially worked with the influential publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō, producing atmospheric landscapes in the shin-hanga tradition. Beginning in the 1950s, Kasamatsu increasingly carved, printed and published his own works, giving him greater control over the entire printmaking process.