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SHOUN, Yamamoto   (1870 - 1965)		'Present Forms / Present-Day Beauties' 'The Flower Bouquet' (Hana-taba)
		Signed:               Shoun Publisher:          Matsuki Heikichi Published:          1909 Size:                    oban tate-e (c.  35. 5 x 24 cms / 14" x 9 1/2") Impression:                  Excellent. Colors:                          Excellent. Condition:                     Fine. Wide margins. From a rare series. ref. no.: # 601961 Price: € 1,250.00

Present-Day Beauties is a rare deluxe series which was issued by one of Japan's foremost publishers, Matsuki Heikichi, from 1606 to 1609. Shoun's style is of particular interest, as it reflects the transitional period between ukiyo-e and shin hanga. Shoun's subject matter of his prints was less formal and more realistic than in the earlier ukiyo-e prints, and in this respect we can say that this series, as well as Fashions of Today, issued in the same period, foreshadows the shin hanga movement of the Taisho period and so paved the way for artists like Shinsui and Kotondo. For a further discussion of this transition period between traditional ukiyo-e and the development of shin hanga, and the characteristics and novelty of SHOUN's style, we recommend Donald Jenkin's discussion of the matter in The New Wave (see below), with paragraphs on Shoun on pp. 19-20. Prints from Present-Day Beauties are very rare, and impressions are hard to come by. This certainly is the reason why it is difficult to find reference to the series in books, except for the one listed below. Reference: Shoun Yamamoto, The Museum of Art, Kochi, 2005; no.57.

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