Gallery 4B: Prints by Azechi Umetarō

Azechi Umetarō (1902-1999) grew up in a rural farming community and initially received his art training via an art correspondence course located in Tokyo. He eventually moved to Tokyo and was mentored by the sōsaku hanga artist Hiratsuka Unichi. Azechi was an avid mountain climber. Depictions of mountain men are a recurring theme is his artwork.

Many of Azechi’s prints were published by Chikuhōdō which remains in business today.

Azechi, like many sosaku hanga artists, also designed ex libris, examples of which can be viewed in Gallery 12

The following woodblock prints are tipped into the book, Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 1., Before the Permanent Snow. Published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1980. The book was limited to 200 copies, 60 of which were a special edition. The book also includes poetry by the artist as well as numerous colored illustrations that were mechanically printed.

The following woodblock prints are tipped into special edition of the book Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 2. Sanyo, Mountain Poems, published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1980. This book is No. 26 of 60 copies. The book includes an Ex Libris, a print noted to have been related to a Christmas card, as well as nine images that are described as calendar prints. Several of these prints are duplicates of others in the collection noted above which were indeed acquired as calendar prints.. The book also notes the original date of issue of each print. Each print is associated with a poem written by the artist.

Azechi prints are often seen reproduced in different formats such as within calendars, magazine inserts, greeting cards, as well as prints tipped into books. They are often listed as being untitled or assigned titles by collectors and/or dealers. It is likely that prints continued to be published years after their original publication, perhaps even using recarved blocks. This book is helpful in identifying the original print dates as well as the titles provided by the artist.

These prints are from Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 3., Snowy Mountain Hut which was Published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1980. The book was limited to 200 copies, 60 that were special editions. These are from copy No, 27.

The following four woodblock prints appeared on the cover or were tipped into the book Collection of Umetaro Azechi's Works, Volume 4. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. The edition of the book was limited to 200 copies, The book was published in 1981 by Green Flute Mamehan Association.

The following four woodblock prints appeared on the cover or were tipped into the book Collection of Umetaro Azechi's Works, Volume 5. Yatsutake Travelogue. This book is no. 35 of an edition limited to 200 copies (No. 27 is also in the collection).. The book was published in 1981 by Green Flute Mamehan Association.

The following woodblock prints are tipped into a special edition of the book Collection of Umetaro Azechi's Works 6. The special edition of the book was limited to 60 copies, of which this one is No. 24, and published in 1980 by Green Flute Mamehan Association (No. 27 from the regular edition is also in the collection). The book includes an Ex Libris, a print noted to have been related to a Christmas card, as well as nine images that are described as calendar prints. Several of these prints are duplicates of others in the collection noted above which were indeed acquired as calendar prints.. The book also notes the original date of issue of each print. Each print is associated with a poem written by the artist.

Azechi prints are often seen reproduced in different formats such as within calendars, magazine inserts, greeting cards, as well as prints tipped into books. They are often listed as being untitled or assigned titles by collectors and/or dealers. It is likely that prints continued to be published years after their original publication, perhaps even using recarved blocks. This book is helpful in identifying the original print dates as well as the titles provided by the artist.

These prints were tipped into Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 7., Mountains and Rivers of Iyo 1 which was published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1983. This is from copy 27 of a limited edition of 200 books.

These prints were tipped into Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 8., Mountains and Rivers of Iyo 2 which was published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1983. This is from copy 27 of a limited edition of 200 books.

These prints were tipped into Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 9., Mountain Path at Night. Published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association, 1984. The prints are from No. 27 of a limited edition of 200 books.

These prints were tippied into Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 10, Heart Returned to the Mountain. Published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1984. This is from no. 27 of a limited publication of 200 books.

These prints were tippied into Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 11, The Road to Kirizumi. Published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in1986. This is from no. 27 of a limited publication of 200 books.

These prints were tipped into Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 12, From Mountain Pass to Mountain Pass. Published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1986. These are from no. 27 of a limited publication of 200 books.

These prints were tipped into Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 13, Mountain Picture Book. Published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1988. These are from no. 27 of a limited publication of 200 books.

These ex libris prints were tipped into Works of Azechi Umetaro, Vol. 14, Collection of Book Tags which was published by the Green Flute Mamehan Association in 1991. These are from the 27th copy of a limited publication of 200 books. Although most ex libris by the artist can be found in Gallery 12, they are included here with the other prints from the 14 volumes of the Works of Azechi Umetaro.

The following print was published by Gendai Hanga Center which was in operation from 1974 -1985. This is an unusual example of a limited edition Azechi print that appears to have been printed by silkscreen rather than by woodblock printing. It also represents a large run of prints. This is no. 908 of 1500 copies.

This section features a set of black and white images by the artist which we have not been able to find documentation of elsewhere. The prints are on paper of various thickness. Although they appear to all have been produced by woodblock, a few lack ink bleed through due to the thickness of paper and at least one has an unusual coating on part of the reverse which suggests it could have been a scrap of paper used for a trial print. All prints include Azechi’s seal in the image. The seal reappears in the margin in red raising the question whether these may have been in the collection of the artist. Further research on these unique items will be required. Images in this section are cropped despite there being no clear demarcations between the image and margins for many of the prints. Clicking on the image will bring the viewer to the full sheet with margins.

The following prints come from a folio of 10 color prints and two monochrome prints. The prints are identical to those found in the book Umetaro Azechi's Print Collection, Twelve Fairy Tales. The book was printed by the Green Flute Small Book Association in 1979 in an edition of 170 (with 35 designated as special editions). The two monochrome prints in the folio appear on the book’s table of contents. The book includes a written story accompanying each of the twelve images. This copy of the folio does not include the last two listed prints in the book, Season Fruit in the Garden and Seat of Snow. This most likely indicates they were originally included in the folio but removed from this particular set. The prints in both the book and the folio include the Azechi seal carved into the block but are without the artist’s signature. Single signed and numbered copies of these prints also exist which have dates between 1977 and 1979. Note: clicking on the images will reveal images with margins. However, full margins are not shown due to limitations during scanning. These prints are larger that what are usually accepted into the collection.