Masao Ido: Toriimoto (Saga, Kyoto)

Colour woodblock print, 48.8 x 35.6 cm, artist’s proof (self-printed), 1982, print details in pencil in the bottom margin, excellent condition.

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Masao Ido's favourite subject was traditional Japanese landscape with an extremely individual form of expression and an amazing skill with perspective and form. Depicted in this print is the preserved street of Toriimoto, Saga (Kyoto) in snow.

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Masao Ido (1945-2016) was born in North-East China, then moved to Japan in 1946 where he has lived ever since. He studied in Kyoto with Yoshida Koho and Otsubo Shigechika and by 1984 was a Teacher of Seiji Sano. In 1983 he participated in the Woodblock prints exhibition of Kyoto "100 Landscapes by three artists": Tomikichirou Tokuriki, Clifton Karhu and Masao Ido (sponsored by Kyoto Newspaper). 

 

Masao Ido was one of the most highly regarded of contemporary woodblock artists, and his works are to be found in many museum collections, including the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Boston Art Museum, the Kyoto and Tokyo National Museum and the Florence Municipal Museum. He passed away in May 2016.

 

 

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