TSUCHIYA Koitsu (1870-1949)

Medium: woodblock

A somewhat lesser known shin hanga printmaker, Koitsu moved to Tokyo at age 15 and lived and apprenticed with Kobayashi Kiyochika ( 1847-1915). His first works were heroic ones done during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), but his popularity grew after meeting the prominent Shin Hanga Publisher, Watanabe Shozaburo in 1931.

Tsuichiya mostly did landscape prints, published by Watanabe, Doi Hanga-ten and other publishers. It is estimated he did over 300 different images, often of famous spots throughout Japan.

The artist is particularly known for his treatment of light, capturing the subtleties of both dawn and dusk.