Seiho Junishi Jo (An Album of the Twelve Zodiacal Signs by Seiho)

Kyoto: Geisodo Yamada Naosaburo, 1911. Seiho, Takeuchi. Small folio. Folding album consisting of twelve ink wash and color prints on thirteen sheets, each bearing Seiho's chop mark. One of the key figures of modern Japanese painting, Seiho (1864 - 1942) absorbed elements of European-style painting—Impressionism, in particular—and successfully fused them into traditional Japanese styles, especially those of the Maruyama-Shijo School. The present work, which is considered a masterpiece of Shijo artistry, clearly demonstrates this harmony between styles. Seiho was awarded the first Order of Cultural Merit in 1937. Two small holes on the front blank, else a bright, clean copy in original paper-covered boards, which show light edgewear and abrasions to front cover. Housed in a rough cloth folding case with bone clasps. (See Hillier, The Art of the Japanese Book, pp. 991-993).