Namikiri, Shima (Shima Namikiri)

Date:: 1942
Medium:: Color woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Publisher:: Watanabe Shozaburo
Edition:: Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Edition period is the primary value driver for Hasui prints. Pre-war lifetime editions with the Watanabe copyright seal (A through D types) consistently achieve 3–5× the price of posthumous reprints of the same design. Condition is the second key factor — unfaded colors, full margins, and absence of foxing or staining are essential. Subject matter (snow > rain > night > other) provides a further modifier within each edition tier.

Pre-war lifetime edition (Watanabe seal, 1926–1944): $1,000–$4,000
Postwar lifetime edition (J-seal, 1946–1957): $400–$1,500
Posthumous/Heisei edition (seal K/I, 1957–present): $150–$600

Description

Namikiri in Shima Province (Mie Prefecture) is a coastal area within the Ise-Shima National Park, its jagged rocky coastline facing Ise Bay. Hasui's 1942 print likely shows the dramatic rock formations of the Shima coast — the same rugged territory where diving women (ama) have harvested shellfish and pearls for centuries — from a viewpoint that emphasizes the geological texture of the weathered shoreline. The Shima coast's combination of rock, sea, and ama culture gave Hasui a distinctly regional coastal subject.