Honjo in Izumo Province (Izumo Honjo)

Date:: August 1932
Medium:: Color woodblock print; o-tanzaku
Format:: Tanzaku
Publisher:

Edition:

Published by Watanabe Shozaburo

Source:

Typical Price

Castle subjects by Hasui draw collectors interested in historic Japanese architecture. Himeji Castle, as Japan's most celebrated surviving original structure, consistently performs well — lifetime editions bring $800–$3,000. Seasonal variants (cherry blossoms, snow) of castle subjects command premiums over plain architectural views. Pre-war lifetime editions bearing the Watanabe copyright seal (A through G types, 1926–1944) are the most desirable.

Pre-war lifetime edition (Watanabe seal): $1,000–$3,500
Postwar lifetime edition (J-seal): $400–$1,500
Posthumous/Heisei edition: $200–$600

Description

Honjo in Izumo Province, published in August 1932, depicts a locality in the Izumo region of Shimane Prefecture — likely the town or district of Honjo near the Hii River or the lake district around Matsue — in the distinctive flat landscape of San'in Province where land, lake, and sky blend under the characteristically overcast coastal light. Hasui's repeated engagement with Izumo Province subjects reflects the region's particular atmospheric quality: the flat delta and lagoon landscape, the gray Sea of Japan light, and the ancient cultural associations of Izumo as Japan's oldest place of divine assembly.