Mizutani Tsuyoshi – 水谷 毅 (1930-1988) – Tsugaru Lion Dance Festival – 津軽獅子舞 – Woodblock Printed Hanging Scroll Limited Edition 2/2 !!!

Mizutani-san had a short life, but did his best to fill it with art, and persevered after great personal tragedy. As a young man, he studied print making and also trained to be a master temple and shrine carpenter of “miyadaiku” 宮大工. His cutting and carving skills were greatly admired. It was the great misfortune of a cerebral hemorrhage that left his right side paralyzed and ended his carpentry profession. After four years of rehabilitation, he returned to woodblock print making, taking up the subject matter of his home town and its surroundings. His pieces become much loved by the people of Fujisaki, Aomori. In 2014, Fujisaki had a retrospective of his work. This piece shows his great skill at bringing a dynamic vitality to the ancient festival commonly known as “shishimai”.

A few small blemishes outside the print on the mounting, some very faint foxing, a tiny bit of repeated damage on the left edge of the mounting (see last picture) and three slightly wavy parts, -none of which detract from the power of this stunning prestige piece. Extremely large limited edition woodblock prints of 2 by Mizutani-san (or of any notable Japanese artist for that matter) are scarce and very rarely come up for sale. Many of Mizutani-san’s prints were donated to the local museums by his admirers following his untimely death.

Very large and very impressive! Hand-numbered 2/2 above the name seals. The whereabouts of print 1 is not public knowledge, but is either in an important private, museum, or municipal institution collection.

Size: 33” x 70″. – [Location: BR Cabinet] – This is not at our store. Please call or message for a private viewing. Please click the arrow on the upper left corner of the pictures to expand them.Price includes shipping worldwide! Comes with a signed and sealed document of authenticity. All prices in Canadian dollars.