Artist: Soseki Komori
Title: Odawara
Date: 1961
Details: More information...
Source:
Japanese Art Open Database
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Description:
Offered for sale is an original pencil signed Japanese woodblock print by Jun'ichiro Sekino (1914-1988), titled Odawara, from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road, 1961. This design is illustrated at plate 272 of Jun'ichiro Sekino: The Prints, Sekino, Katsuko (ed.), 1994. Like Hiroshige and Hokusai before him, Sekino illustrated the 53 stations along the Tokaido Road from Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto. Sekino is one of the leading artists of the sosaku hanga school, and was a pupil of Koshiro Onchi. This print depicts the Daruma Doll Fair, held annually for 400 years at the Iiizumi-Kannon Temple in Odarwara. Daruma dolls represent Bodhidharma, the founder of Chan Buddhism in China (known as Zen Buddhism in Japan). He is said to have lost the use of his arms and legs after meditating in front of a wall for nine years. The dolls are used as charms to fulfill some special wish, such as success on an examination, or election to public office. It is customary to paint one eye in black when the wish is made, and then paint the second eye after the wish is fulfilled. This print is in excellent condition, with wonderfully fresh colors. There are three small tape hinges on the reverse, at each of the top corners and at the center. The artist's name is blind stamped in the bottom margin. The image measures approximately 12 3/4 by 18 inches, plus full margins.
