Imao Keinen, “Manazuru (Hooded Cranes)”, 1891

Imao Keinen (今尾景年) (1845–1924)
“Manazuru (Hooded Cranes),” 1891
Plate 22 from the “Summer Album” in the series “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” (Keinen Kacho Gafu)

This exquisite diptych features original colour woodblock prints by the renowned artist Imao Keinen, skilfully carved by Tanaka Hirokichi, printed by Miki Jinzaburo, and published by Nishimura Soemon. Created in 1891 as part of the celebrated “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” series, it captures the delicate grace of hooded cranes hidden in bamboo wetlands.

Technical Details & Condition:

• Oban-sized diptych of colour woodblock prints, carefully trimmed close to the image borders on the sides and bottom, and slightly within the margin at the top. Archivally mounted on a single sheet of millennium-quality washi paper, ensuring preservation and display integrity.
• Features artist’s and publisher’s seals on the left margin, authenticating its origin and craftsmanship.

Dimensions:

• Assembly on support sheet: 31.5 x 46 cm
• woodcut sheets (diptych): 31.5 x 46 cm

References & Viewing:

• The full “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” series is available for viewing at the Yamada Bookstore’s online art collection: https://www.yamada-shoten.com/onlinestore/detail.php?item_id=41944

Price & Shipping:

AU$336 (approximately US$218.03 / €189.20 / £166.95), inclusive of worldwide express shipping.
Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you wish to own this magnificent and substantial pair of original Japanese woodblock prints, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’ll gladly provide a PayPal invoice to make your purchase seamless and secure.

Imao Keinen’s colour woodblock print, “Green Ume and Cinnamon Sparrow", 1891

Imao Keinen (今尾景年) (1845–1924)

"Green ume and Cinnamon sparrow", 1891, plate 21, from the “Summer Album” in the series of four volumes, “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” (Keinen Kacho Gafu), cut by Tanaka Hirokichi, printed by Miki Jinzaburo and published in 1891 by Nishimura Soemon in Kyoto.

Colour woodblock print on buff coloured washi paper with full margins, stab binding holes in the right margin, plate number at upper centre and the artist’s name and publication details on the left margin as published.

Size: (Orban size sheet) 36.9 x 25.8 cm; (image borderline) 31.6 x 22.4 cm.

See all the prints featured in the four volumes of “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” at the Yamada Bookstore (山田書店美術部オンラインストア): http://www.yamada-shoten.com/onlinestore/detail.php?item_id=41944.

Condition: a strong and well-printed (near faultless) impression in a museum quality condition with no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains, foxing or significant signs of handling.

I am selling this masterwork of polychrome woodblock printing with Arabic numerals from the original 1891 edition showing that it was printed for Western collectors—note that there is also an edition printed with kanji characters for the local collectors—for AU$294 (currently US$196.51/EUR177.80/GBP156.52 at the time of posting this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this very beautiful woodblock print by one of the great masters of Japanese printmaking in a near pristine condition for its considerable age, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Imao Keinen’s diptych woodblock print, “Taiwan Rosa, Oriental Turtle Dove”, 1891

Imao Keinen 今尾景年 (1845–1924)

“Taiwan Rosa, Oriental Turtle Dove”, 1891, plate 25, from the “Summer Album” in the series of four volumes, “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” (Keinen Kacho Gafu), plate cut by Tanaka Hirokichi, printed by Miki Jinzaburo and published in 1891 by Nishimura Soemon in Kyoto.

Colour woodblock prints (Oban diptych) on washi paper, joined to form a single sheet with a common borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 36.8 x 46.8 cm; (image borderline) 31.9 x 45 cm; (image borderline each sheet) 31.9 x 22.5 cm.

See images of the prints in this series at Yamada Bookstore (山田書店美術部オンラインストア): http://www.yamada-shoten.com/onlinestore/detail.php?item_id=41944.

Condition: crisp and well-printed impressions of the highest quality in near perfect condition (there is a faint irregularity in the paper at the top of the left panel). The plates have been joined to create a single image and laid onto a support sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper.

I am selling this pair of large original woodblock prints for the total cost of AU$400 (currently US$313.17/EUR257.95/GBP221.87 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing these exquisite and genuine colour woodblock prints by one of the great masters of Japanese printmaking, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Imao Keinen’s woodblock, “Two Robins Between Flowering Peonies”, 1891

Imao Keinen (今尾 景年) (1845 – 1924)

“Two Robins Between Flowering Peonies” (aka “Herbaceous Peony with Birds” [Getty images title: https://www.gettyimages.dk/detail/news-photo/woodblock-print-from-the-1891-edition-of-keinen-kacho-gafu-news-photo/527186906)], 1891, plate 29, from the “Summer Album” in the series of four volumes, “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” (Keinen Kacho Gafu), cut by Tanaka Hirokichi, printed by Miki Jinzaburo and published in 1891 by Nishimura Soemon in Kyoto.

Colour woodblock print on Japanese laid paper with full margins, stab binding holes in the right margin, plate number at upper centre and the artist’s name and publication details on the left margin as published.

Size: (Orban size sheet) 36.9 x 25.8 cm; (image borderline) 31.9 x 22.6 cm.

See all the prints featured in the four volumes of “Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons” at the Yamada Bookstore (山田書店美術部オンラインストア): http://www.yamada-shoten.com/onlinestore/detail.php?item_id=41944.

Condition: a near faultless impression with rich colour in museum quality condition with no tears, holes, folds, losses, abrasions, stains, foxing or significant signs of handling.

I am selling this superb original masterpiece of polychrome woodblock printing for AU$256 (currently US$198.50/EUR166.24/GBP142.41 at the time of posting this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this very beautiful and genuine woodblock print by one of the great masters of Japanese printmaking in near pristine condition for its considerable age, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold 

Imao Keinen’s woodblock diptych, “Two birds in a flowering pear tree”, 1891

Imao Keinen 今尾景年 (1845–1924)

Oban diptych, “Two birds in a flowering pear tree” (descriptive title only), 1891, published by Nishimura Soemon in the “Spring Album” of the four-volumes of colour woodblock printed books, “Flowers and birds of four seasons.”

Colour woodblock prints (two panels) on washi paper with margins and stab-binding holes as published.

Size of each panel: (sheet) 36.8 x 25.5 cm; (image borderline) 32.1 x 22.5 cm

See images and descriptions of the prints in this series at Fuji Arts: https://www.fujiarts.com/cgi-bin/encyclopedia.pl?page=imao_keinen_four_seasons_keinen_kacho_gafu; Yamada Bookstore (山田書店美術部オンラインストア): http://www.yamada-shoten.com/onlinestore/detail.php?item_id=41944; http://www.yamada-shoten.com/blog/?p=3709; and Davidson’s Gallery: https://www.davidsongalleries.com/search/?q=Keinen&minPrice=&maxPrice=&filter=

Condition: crisp and well-printed impressions in good condition.  Both sheets have light spattering of colour on the binding margin and the right panel has a colour mark accidentally left on a flower by the printer—it was a dark and stormy night and the assistant printer, Cecil, had been drinking far too much Sake. At top of the right panel there is a hand-written Japanese character (I believe that it is the number, “9”).

I am selling this pair of large original woodblock prints for the total cost of  [deleted] at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing these exquisite and genuine colour woodblock prints by one of the great masters of Japanese printmaking, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This pair of prints have been sold

I was looking back through my earlier listings of prints by Imao Keinen and to my surprise I found that I had an original painting by the master that I had forgotten about (see http://www.printsandprinciples.com/2013/01/hyakusen-keinen-kyuko-and-rosetsu.html). What makes this discovery even more surprising for me is that in the discussion where the painting—a collaborative work involving a few masters—is featured, I included a demonstration about how to load an Oriental brush with the traditional three tones needed to make meaningful marks. … Funny how one’s memory quickly fades about such things that were once important! When I look at this print and the shape of the marks carved into the block to mimic brushstrokes, I can still remember instructing my painting class at the time, how to make “proper” marks with titles for key strokes like “head of the shrimp”, “tail of the shark”, “the thorn” and “the lanceolate leaf.” My greatest fear at the time was to find that I had someone in my class that really knew a lot about Oriental painting. Luckily, I never did—or at least the folk that did have “the knowledge” had the courtesy not to correct me while laughing quietly to themselves.