Kasamatsu Shiro – Kikyo-Mon Gate

Original woodblock print. The first edition of this design was published in 1955. The current print was printed in 2022.

The Kikyo-Mon Gate (or Kikyo-gate) is part of the Edo castle, which housed various shoguns and later became part of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Kasamatsu Shiro shows it here on a tranquil day with only a few birds in sight, very similar to how one might encounter it today.

Image size (excluding margins): 36.5 * 24.0 cm (14.4 * 9.4 in).

The print is in excellent condition.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Kasamatsu Shiro (1898-1991) was a prolific and famous woodblock artist. When only aged thirteen he started as an apprentice. He could trace part of his artistic lineage back via Kaburagi and Yoshitoshi, connecting him to the great Ukiyo-e masters of the 19th century.

He created many prints in the Shin-Hanga style. Many of these depicted traditional themes like landscapes and temples, but within that Shiro displayed great diversity. His prints in the period of 1952-1960 in this style were very successful. This enabled him to experiment and he started working in the Sōsaku-Hanga (creative prints) movement as well, not only designing but also carving and printing himself.

See an overview of Kasamatsu Shiro's woodblock prints