Koho Shoda, "Moonlit Sea".
Woodblock print. From the series "Hasegawa’s Night Series". Mid-edition published by Hasegawa, Nishinomiya with a seal to the left margin and stamp "All Rights reserved Y. Nishinomiya Kami Negishi TOKYO" verso. Sheet size 27.6 x 20.2 cm. Image 25.6 x 18.3 cm. Frame 33.5 x 26 cm.
Good condition.
Koho Shoda was part of the shin-hanga (”New Prints”) movement in Japan during the early 20th century. Shin-hanga was influenced by European Impressionism with a visual language that appealed to the Western market. Shoda Koho (sometimes identified as Hiroshima Koho) was born in Kanda, Tokyo. After graduating, he became a student of Ogata Gekko, where he studied historical portraits and bijin-ga; he later worked for Chuo Shimbun, creating illustrations.
Shoda Koho seems to have produced woodblock prints exclusively for Hasegawa/Nishinomiya Publishing, including standalone prints, illustrations for various books and calendars, as well as series such as “Hasegawa's Night Scenes” and the series "Japanese Scenes on Tanzaku."