Attributed to Kazan Watanabe (1793-1841)
Japan, early 19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

Ink and watercolor on paper, with paper frames and mounted as hanging scrolls with bamboo handles. All with sealed and inscribed fitted wooden boxes ‘‘Kazan o haiga’.

1. Depicting banana leaves and inscribed “A banana leaf, standing in the autumn windstorm, the sound of rain in a bucket, in the night”, a poem composed and written by Watanabe Kazan. Sealed ‘Kazan of Watanabe Kazan (1793-1841)’.

2. Depicting a wild pink flower and pampas-grass (Susuki or Ashi). Sealed ‘Zenrakudo‘.

3. A painting of a rooftop, inscribed “Clouds of flower blossoms, Ueno is over there, alas for my unlearned self!”, the poem composed and inscribed by Watanabe Kazan. Sealed ‘Zenrakudo‘. Ueno is the area associated with excellence in art and learning where Tokyo University and Tokyo National Museum are located. The area is famous for cherry blossom viewing in spring at the Ueno Park. The painting possibly shows the roof-top of the main hall of Zojoji Temple. Sealed ‘Zenrakudo‘.

4. A painting of a swallow (tsubame) flying past willow trees. Sealed ‘Zenrakudo‘.

5. Depicting a grasshopper and inscribed “Although it believes it is hidden in the grass, you can see the grasshopper, Kaseki” – the poem composed and inscribed by Watanabe Kaseki (1852-1930), who studied under Watanabe Shoka (1835-1887), the second son of Watanabe Kazan. Sealed ‘Zenrakudo‘, one of his artist’s names.

6. A painting of a man seated, looking up at the moon, with a ceremonial festive broom and gourd beside him. Sealed ‘Zenrakudo‘.

Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, minimal staining, and some creases.
Provenance: Family collection of either Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) or his son-in-law Louis (Loek) Borensztajn (1935-2021), Netherlands. Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, dealer, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. He became one of the world’s leading collectors of Japanese art, starting at the age of 18, and continued to collect and work as an art dealer in Berlin in the 1920s. In the 1930s Felix Tikotin fled from the Nazis and hid his collection in the Netherlands. After the war, he decided that his collection should be taken to Israel, where in 1959 and with the help of Abba Hushi, who was the mayor of Haifa, The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was established. The Museum's collection comprises more than 8,000 items of art and crafts.

Dimensions: Image sizes 25 x 28 cm, Sizes incl. mounting 113.5 x 35.5 cm

Watanabe Kazan (1793-1841), was a Japanese scholar and a noted painter. He studied painting to earn a living. In 1832 Watanabe, who was in the service of Lord Tawara of Mikawa, was sent to an important post at Edo (now Tokyo) and was put in charge of coastal defense for his province. His opposition to the stringent antiforeigner policy of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, however, brought him great suffering and a long term of house arrest. Later, when his pupils planned to hold a benefit exhibition for him in Edo, he feared it would create turmoil that might draw attention to his family and to his lord, and he chose, therefore, to commit suicide.

Auction result comparison: For another painting by the same artist see Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art on 11 May 2010, lot 156, sold for GBP 66,000.