Torii Kotondo • 浴后 • 日本木版画 • 新生版画 - 日本 - 20世紀

TORII KOTONDO (1900–1976)
After the Bath
From: Onna Jūnidai (Twelve Aspects of Women)
Original design: Shōwa 5 (1930) — this impression: Ishu Kankōkai, c. 1976–1978

CONDITION
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Excellent. A fresh, fully saturated impression with all the technical highlights of this design intact.

Printed on superb-quality handmade washi with full deckled edges. Margins show a gentle, even cream patina from undisturbed archival storage. Never framed, never light-exposed. All seals and credits bright and cleanly struck.

Sheet: c. 33 × 48.3 cm.

THE DESIGN
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A young woman emerges from the bath, pausing to gather her yukata around her as she holds a small lacquer bowl wrapped in a soft white cloth — the quiet, suspended moment that gives the design its title. Her hair, freshly redressed, is held with a green ribbon and tortoiseshell comb; the loose grey-striped robe and black satin collar suggest the relaxed informality of the dressing room rather than formal wear.

THE EDITION
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This impression comes from the Ishu Kankōkai commemorative edition of Onna Jūnidai — the most prestigious modern reissue of any shin-hanga series.

Authorized shortly after Kotondo's death in 1976 by his daughter, the painter Torii Setsuko, and produced by the Tokyo publisher Ishu Kankōkai (遺珠刊行会, "Society for Publishing Hidden Pearls"). The project was formally designated under Japan's Selected Preservation Techniques for Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, with supervision by Narazaki Muneshige (Chairman of the Japan Ukiyo-e Association) and final inspection by the artist's daughter. The carvers and printers were direct lineal successors of the original 1929–1935 workshops.

This impression carries:

Artist signature 言人 (Kotondo) with red artist seal
Carver credit 彫師 伊藤進 (Itō Susumu)
Printer credit 摺師 渡辺義明 (Watanabe Yoshiaki)
Copyright-holder seal 著作権者検印 (red Torii seal)
Publisher inspection seal 版元検印 (red Ishu moneybag)


PRESENTATION & STORAGE
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The print is housed in a modern archival conservation folder of our own preparation. The original Ishu Kankōkai presentation folders — both the inner viewing folder with windowed mat and the outer protective folder bearing the series and print titles in Japanese — are included with the shipment, as they belong with the print.

We recommend keeping the print stored in the modern conservation folder we provide and retaining the original folders separately as documentation. The vintage folders, while beautifully made, are now nearly fifty years old and no longer offer the same protection against humidity and acidity that contemporary archival housing does.