Asada Benji (麻田辨自) (artist 1899 – 1984)
Pipes and Cigarettes
ca 1935
10.25 in x 15 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese color woodblock print
Signed: Ben [in ink] Asada [in pencil]
We have added two images of prints by Kawakami Sumio of pipes dating from 1927. We had done this because the similarities between these prints appears too strong to be a coincidence. If our assumption is correct then Sumio influenced the production of this print by Benji Asada, if only at a distance.
****
The signature, Ben [in ink] Asada [in pencil], appears on other prints by this artist. A self-printed composition from 1935 uses the same format. However, in his print Kyoto Kiyomizu-dera Ugo no Tsuki (Moon over Kiyomizu-dera) from the 1930 his signature is in the traditional form using kanji characters vertically followed by the artist's seal. A 'Ben' stand-alone signature was used in a magazine illustration. Sometimes he even used an embossed signature with no ink or pencil. Clearly he experimented a lot.
modern prints (shin hanga - 新版画) (genre)
still life (seibutsu-ga - 静物画) (genre)