'Hazuki, Girl Gazing at the Moon'
Series Twelve Forms of Beauty: Aspects of Beautiful Women (8th Month)
This lovely woodblock print depicts a beautiful 'Bijin' gazing at the moon. There were twelve woodblocks in the series, all of beautiful young women engaged in different pursuits. Hazuki  is poised in a relaxed sitting position by a table, dressed in a beautiful lavender kimono, simply gazing up at a full moon. This print was first introduced in 1901, and is of the period. It has gaufrage accents (embossing)and silver pigment, which adds to the overall beauty of this woodblock. This print bears its title cartouche, along with Migita's signature and red Gosai seal, and was published by Akiyama Buemon. This print is in very good condition, with generalized, minimal toning. It is beautifully matted and framed in a vintage bamboo-style wood frame that measures 18" x 13.5", and the sight size is 13" x 8.25". It has been matted in a soft lavender mat, a very complementary color.     P5722              $195.00
Toshihide was born in 1863 with the name Migita Toyohiko in Ōitaken, Shizuoka Province. His father was a Kano school painter. He studied Western-style painting under Kunisawa Shinkuro (1847-1877) and after Shinkuro’s death with Honda Kinkichirō (1850?-1921), before entering the school of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) in Tokyo at the age of 17, from whom he received his art name Toshihide. He studied Japanese-style painting with Watanabe Shotei (1851-1918) and it is reported that he studied ceramic decoration at some point in his life. He designed a wide variety of prints including actor prints, bijin-ga (prints of beautiful women), newspaper illustrations, kuchi-e (illustrations for novels) and senso-e of the Sino-Japanese (1894-1895) and Russo-Japanese (1904-1905) Wars. From 1887, like many of the woodblock artists who were trying to adapt to changes in art and publishing, he worked as an illustrator for books and newspapers, including a long stint with the Asahi shimbun starting in 1897. He was a member of the Nihon Bijutsu Kyokai (Japan Art Association) and Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute), frequently serving as a juror for these groups. Among his pupils were Ikeda Terukata (1883-1921), Ikeda Shōen (1886-1917), Kaburagi Kiyokata (1878-1972) and Hirezaki Eihō (1881-1968).