Kasamatsu Shiro – Mountain Shadow

Original woodblock print on Washi paper. Print from 1959. Numbered and signed 83/100. Since there are also prints numbered higher then 100, it seems that after the first 100 Kasamatsu Shiro made a 100 more, numbering them from 101 to 200 of 200 total.

Mountain Shadow was created by Kasamatsu Shiro in Sosaku-Hanga style, with designing, carving and printing all done by himself. Such prints by Kasamatsu Shiro were generally more abstract then his Shin-Hanga style prints, where specialized carvers and printers were used under the direction of a publisher. To an small extent this might have been due to the difficulty in achieving the level of skill of the specialized carvers and printers. Given the carving and printing skill displayed in many of his Sosaku-Hanga prints, a bigger reason must however have been the greater freedom Kasamatsu Shiro enjoyed while working in Sosaku-Hanga style.

The current print shows the shadow of a mountain falling upon the woods beneath it. The bright colors for the trees suggest the season is autumn, and contrast with the darkness of the mounains behind the forest. A single brushlike line seems to denote a path into the forest and towards the mountain, raising wonder about what is to be found there.

The print is in good condition but there are two remnants of an earlier attachment on the back. These are relatively small and far removed from the image itself however. Two pictures serve to display these.

Image size (excluding margins): 36.8 * 24.8 cm.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

See an overview of Kasamatsu Shiro's woodblock prints