Ito Shinsui, "Spring Sea, Oshima"

About 120km from Tokyo, Oshima Island in the Pacific Ocean was a safe haven for Ito Shinsui during World War II. In this design, two women enjoy a warm spring day overlooking the coast at Oshima and the sweeping views. In the distant rock outcrop is a lighthouse.

Series: Twelve Sights of Oshima Island
Date: 1937
Size: Oban
Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
Condition: Excellent color and condition
Frame Shown: 16" x 24" x 1/2", Modern Metal, Walnut

Ito Shinsui (1898-1972) is one of Japan's most important artists to emerge from the shin-hanga era. Along with his good friend Hasui Kawase, Shinsui's woodblock prints, especially his bijin-ga (prints of beautiful women), are iconic in their form and beauty. Many of his landscapes document his time away from Tokyo during World War II.