Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) | Sailboats: Morning (Hansen, asa) | Showa period, 20th century

This design exists in six variants, each denoting a different time of day or atmospheric condition: Sailboats: Morning, Sailboats: Forenoon, Sailboats: Afternoon, Sailboats: Mist, Sailboats: Evening, and Sailboats: Night. Yoshida had previously treated the subject of boats at sail in the Seto Inland Sea (Seto naikai) in three earlier prints published by Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885–1962); the blocks for these, however, were lost in the fires that swept Tokyo following the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1 September 1923.¹

Returning to the subject, Yoshida worked on a larger print size and explored the expressive possibilities of variant printings – an approach that attracted considerable critical praise at the time.² In Sailboats: Morning, rosy dawn light suffuses the upper part of the sails. The technical precision with which Yoshida renders the effects of changing light across different times of day and shifting weather conditions accounts in large part for the series’ sucess. The enduring sentiment of passage and repose, which embody the themes of journeying and travel so intrinsic to Yoshida’s work, most certainly added to its appeal.

For further reference on the different variants of this design, see Carolyn M. Putney et al., Fresh Impressions: Early Modern Japanese Prints (Ohio, 2013) 266-d – 266-I, cat nos. 257-262.

1. Ogura Tadao et al., The Complete Woodblock Prints of Yoshida Hiroshi, (Tokyo, 1987) ps. 56-60, nos. 40-45.