Sudden transformation from the extreme heat, it comes to be the season growing chilly without a coat. This year, it seems that we can not expect the beautiful autumn color of leaves. Yet, I would like to enjoy this short autumn with art and foods.
This time, I would like to introduce Yamakawa Shuho who probably is familiar to you as the artist frequently shown in our catalogs.
Shuho was born in Kyoto, 1898. He moved into Tokyo at the age of three, and started his career as painter at fifteen when he became a pupil of Ikegami Shuho. The name of Shuho should have been granted by his master. He later became a pupil of Kaburaki Kiyokata, and rapidly made progress enough to be counted as one of “three birds under Kiyokata”, along with Ito Shinsui and Terashima Shimei. It can be said that charms in the beauty Shuho depicted are its common familiarity and purity. They are shown in “Beauty”, one of our new items I would like to introduce to you. The girl’s look gives an impression that she is still child. But her brave-looking posture has a breath-taking charm. The pattern of kimono might be white camellia. You could feet Shuho’s elaborate brush strokes in her posture and hands.
Beauty
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed
JPY. 100,000- 130.0×35.8 (221.2×49.2) cm
The next new item I introduce is “Morning Bath” with a typical beauty Shuho depicted. The subject is an adult woman, probably that’s why she has matured charms compared to the girl in “Beauty” mentioned above. Shuho’s wife was a reputed beauty, and he left a lot of paintings depicted his wife, such as “Hotaru (A firefly)” owned by Noma Museum. The woman in this painting might be his wife too.
Morning bath
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed
wood box titled, signed and sealed by the artist
JPY. 350,000- 127.1×34.8 (214.3×49.2) cm
Shuho who grew up in downtown Tokyo was familiar with dance and music since his childhood, and left a lot of paintings taken the subject from dance performance. The last item I introduce, “Sambaso Dancer”, is one of those. This song is considered the oldest in Sambaso, but the lyricist and composer are unknown. As you could guess from the title, the most interesting part is the feminine dance and light steps. This painting has an interesting composition with the mask of old man, and looks adorable.
Sambaso Dancer
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed
wood box titled, signed and sealed by the artist
JPY. 240,000- 26.3×52.3 (146.5×70.3) cm
In the art world, an artist’s ability and the market price don’t match sometimes. Although Shuho had an ability enough to be told “Shinsui in east, Shuho in west”, his name didn’t spread much because of his young death. But, thanks to this, the price is still reasonable. We would be happy if you could realize how wonderful his artworks are.
text by Okubo Kenshi
