TSUCHIYA KOITSU (1870-1949), THE POND OF SARUSAWA, NARA ON A RAINY EVENINGBy Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870-1949), signed Koitsu with seal ‘Shin’Japan, dated 1941Color woodblock print on paper. Vertical Oban. Signed Koitsu with ‘Shin’ seal on the bottom right corner of the image along with Baba Nobuhiko publisher seal on the left margin. Entitled Nara Sarusawa no Ike (Sarusawa Pond at Nara). This print appears to be part of the “export” version as it has the title and Koitsu signature written in the Latin script in the bottom margin. Vertical inscription along the right margin.Sarusawa Pond and the silhouette of Kofuku temple Pagoda on a rainy evening. The daylight still lingers at the horizon. The orange lights from the houses and streetlamps cast their reflections on the dark water surface.SIZE of the sheet 40.5 x 26.5 cmCondition: Great impression, registration and vivid colors. Very minor wear.Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870-1949) was a renowned landscape artist and a student of the famous Meiji-era print designer Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915). He gained prominence as a designer of shin hanga (New Prints) for major woodblock print publishers from the early 1930s to 1940. Tsuchiya Koitsu's prints were known for their dramatic use of light and interesting color effects, influenced by his teacher Kiyochika. While some critics praised his work, noting its quality on par with famous shin hanga landscape artists like Kawase Hasui, Kasamatsu Shiro, and Yoshida Hiroshi, others criticized his heavy-handed design and unconventional color sensibility.