The world was becoming a smaller place in the 19th century. European impressionist painters like Van Gogh and Degas had been greatly influenced by Japanese Ukiyo-e style of woodblock print art that was fading fast in Japan. However when a new generation of Japanese artists like Goyo Hashiguci saw what the Europeans were up to, The Shin-hanga style rejuvenated the old style now with more emphasis on light, as with the impressionists. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The Ukiyo-e style means pictures in a floating world. The revival to succeed had to be commercially viable. So the Shin-Hanga revival included a lot more geishas and even nudes. The Goyo print on this stamp is called “Woman Combing Hair”.The upside of the printing technique is that the numerous prints have more of the hand of the artisans involved. A reprint of this work done in the old way but printed from a modern woodblock is worth $500.
Todays stamp is issue A1300, a 60 yen stamp issued by Japan on April 14th 1987. This stamp and one other with a different Goyo work were issued as part of a philately week. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used.
Ukiyo-e was most common in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries. The most common subject was nature scenes. The style is very labor intensive, not just for the designing artist. The work then goes to a wood carvers who carves the woodblock that will transfer the image. The printer is then responsible for the coloring and the handmade paper on to which the image goes onto. Last but definitely not least is the job of the publisher, whose job it is to promote and distribute the work. Around 1870, Ukiyo-e prints became available in Paris. There they had much influence on the artists who were part of the impressionist movement. This influence is referred to as Japonism.
Goyo initially tried his hand at the traditional style of Ukiyo-e at a Japanese art show in 1911. It was not a success. Goyo, not his real name, was then approached by a publisher to do a work more influenced by the use of light by western impressionist. This was the Shin-Hanga movement. It was also more influenced by demand in the world market. The subject was nude and the title was “Bathing”. This work was a big success and the publisher wanted to continue the collaboration. Instead Goyo supervised the artisans involved in later works personally.
Unfortunately Goyo was a sickly man suffering from beriberi and meningitis. When he died in 1921, he had only completed 14 designs. His brother and then nephew stepped in with 7 new designs allegedly taken from Goyo sketches. No doubt helping the value of the original prints, the original woodblocks for making the prints were lost in a Tokyo earthquake in 1923.
The Shin-Hanga movement faded after the war. Modern practitioners tend to do for themselves the woodblock carving and printing. When it is done all by one person, it is called Sosaku-hanga.
Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Goyo’s publisher of “Bathing”. a Mr. Watanabe. To bad for being shut out of the later success after suggesting the right track for “Goyo”. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.