Japanese Woodblock Print, 1948, published by Unsodo

SIZE IN INCHES: chuban 10.5 x 7.75 inches

COMMENTS: Together with the willow and mountain laurel, the Takao maple tree is the Kyoto city tree and loved by its citizens. The Takao's rich colors add to the beauty of Kyoto's bright autumnal tints and have captivated the hearts of the Japanese people for centuries. In Japan viewing the fall colors is as important a traditional past time as viewing the cherry blossoms in the spring. The maple trees most common to Japan are called Takao maple, or Iroha maple. Takao, the place after which the tree is named, is one of the three famous spots in the foothills of Kyoto's northwestern mountains (together with Makino-o and Togano-o).

HIDEO NISHIYAMA (1911-1989) was a Japanese artist born in Kyoto. When he was 14 he started taking private painting lessons; in 1936 he graduated at the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting. Before WWII he studied with Suisho Nishiyama, who in his turn had studied with Takeuchi Seiho, his father-in-law. He exhibited with the Bunten and Teiten, and in 1954 he became a professor in Kyoto. After the war he won many prizes (a.o. The Ministry of Education Prize in 1958 and The Japan Art Institute Prize in 1961). In 1980 he became a member of the Japanese Art Institute.

VG, no flaws of note