Itō Nisaburō (1905-2001) Japanese, Woodblock Print. Depicts the pagoda of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. Kanji written cleverly in different spots throughout the image. Informative tag on back. 

Overall: 23 X 17 1/2 in. 

Sight: 15 1/2 X 10 1/2 in. 

#3911 . 

Itō Nisaburō (also written Nizaburō) was born in Kyoto in 1905 into a merchant family. He attended the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting, graduating in 1927 and subsequently studying at the Sannanjuku (Mountain-South-Studio) of the nihonga style painter Tsuchida Bakusen (1887-1936). Joining with other former students of Bakusen, he formed the Hakushūsha group in 1938 which held exhibitions in major Japanese cities. The artist, best known for the shin hanga woodblock prints he designed for the prolific Kyoto publishing house Uchida Publishing, was also a talented painter in a style that combined Western yōga and Japanese nihonga painting techniques. Renowned for his landscapes, often of fantastic Kyoto views, as well as depictions of flowers and birds, his prints have been sought after by collectors for portraying Japan during a particularly tumultuous time in its history. His post-World War II work has been described as exhibiting the "uninhibited brushwork of zen painting, followed by a period when he was influenced by surrealism."  In the mid 1960s he was inspired by Tibetan Buddhism and his work increasingly displayed esoteric, mystical themes and symbols. In his later years he produced prints for the Matsukyū Collective, and in his final months he self-published several woodblock prints, dying in 2001. It is officially not known if Nisaburō carved any of the blocks for his prints, although he has been closely associated with the moku hanga ("self-carved and self-designed") movement. His print designs are occasionally confused with those of his fellow Kyoto print designers Kotozuka Eiichi (1906-1979) and Tokuriki Tomikichirō (1902-2000), due to their working together on several pieces in their youth. The Japanese National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto listed at least 152 of his works as part of their permanently displayed collection, and in 2005 the Chikkyō Art Museum in Kasaoka held a retrospective of his long and productive career.