Technique: Color woodblock print, nishiki-e, woodblock color print (mm 150x120).
Publisher: Unsōdō, Kyoto.
A splendid proof with excellent colors, in the first edition. Printed on Japanese paper in the Meiji era (1868–1912). In exceptional condition, with uncut margins all around.
Bibliography:
Carpenter John T., Designing Nature: The Rinpa Aesthetic in Japanese Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012, pp 111
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/77232
Hillier J., The Art of the Japanese Book, London: Sotheby's, 1987
Jackson A. (ed.), Kimono: The Art and Evolution of Japanese Fashion, London: Thames & Hudson, 2015
Johnson S., Zuan Pattern Books: The Glory Years, Andon, 2015, p. 100
Milhaupt TS, Kimono: A Modern History, London: Reaktion Books, 2014
Yokoya, Ken’ichiro, Fischbach, Becky (ed.), Zuancho in Kyoto: Textile Design Books for the Kimono Trade, Stanford University, 2007.
Kōrin Furuya (Kaizu 1875-1910) was a Japanese artist, illustrator and designer active in the Kyoto art circle during the Meiji period. He taught at the Kyoto School of Art from 1905 until his death.
The Kōrin-style Patterns (Kōrin moyō), printed and published between 1880 and 1907, are multi-color woodblock prints originally conceived as a collection of textile patterns inspired by Rinpa-style works, which later became very popular among Kyoto kimono designers and makers. John T. Carpenter, curator of Japanese art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, describes them as "a collection that blends traditional Japanese patterns with modern Western designs."
Kōrin Furuya's works are preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.