Oda Kazuma (1882-1956)
Signed: 'Kazuma hitsu'
Dated: 'Taisho jusannen saku' (Taisho 13 [1924])
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo (Hotei "E" seal, consistent with printing 1931-41)
26 x 38.9 cm. (10 ¼ x 15 ¼ in.)
This atmospheric winter scene depicts the Matsue Ohashi, the great bridge spanning the Ohashigawa river in the castle town of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture, under heavy snowfall. In the foreground three women in kimono carry large bangasas (oiled paper umbrellas), their richly coloured garments — deep purple, teal, and black — vivid against the surrounding whiteness. To their left, a man carries a basket overflowing with vegetables, while to the right a solitary figure, wrapped against the cold, makes their way across the bridge.
Behind them, the long span of the Matsue Ohashi stretches across the river, its railings dusted with snow and tiny umbrella-carrying figures crossing. Snow-laden rooftops and the signs of riverside merchant buildings crowd the far bank, while the hills above the town — Matsue being famously encircled by water and low mountains — rise softly into a grey, brooding sky filled with falling flakes rendered in the characteristic stippled style associated with Oda's work.
Oda Kazuma was a master of the Taisho shin-hanga landscape, and this print exemplifies his ability to balance decorative boldness with atmospheric subtlety. The composition draws the eye through layered planes of depth — from the vivid foreground figures, across the bridge, and into the misty hills beyond — a spatial organisation that owes as much to Western printmaking as to the Japanese tradition. The vivid blue of the river with delicate bokashi gradation, glowing against the muted palette of the snow scene, is a characteristic and masterly touch.
Another impression is in the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), go to:
https://collections.artsmia.org/art/62466/great-bridge-at-matsue-oda-kazuma
