Original Japanese Wada Sanzo 1939 Woodblock Print "Photography Unit" Military Showa 1939 15"W LS#030

Wada Sanzō (1883–1967) — Photography Unit (写真班, Shashinhan), from Shōwa Shokugyō E-zukushi (Japanese Vocations in Pictures)

Vintage Japanese Shōwa Era, 1939

The Shōwa Shokugyō E-zukushi series began in 1938 and was published by Nishinomiya Shoin. The prewar sequence contains 48 prints; the series was interrupted in 1943 during the Pacific War and resumed in 1954 under the title Zoku Shōwa Shokugyō E-zukushi, published by Kyoto Hanga-in. This impression is from the original prewar Nishinomiya Shoin edition, limited to 300 impressions.

The composition centers on a cluster of photographers — cameras raised, flash lamp glowing — as they document two decorated military officers standing at attention to the right. An open camera case on the floor and a second flash unit complete the scene. Rendered in Wada's characteristic loose, painterly line with restrained color washes and atmospheric tonal gradation, the image captures the emerging role of the photographic press corps in imperial Japan at the height of military expansion. The drama comes from contrast: the informal, jostling scrum of cameramen against the rigid formality of the uniformed subjects. Title cartouche upper right: 写真班 (Shashinhan); signature 三造 with two red artist's seals. Series inscription 昭和職業繪盡 with publisher's circular kiku seal printed in lower right margin.

Wada Sanzō studied painting beginning in 1899 under Kuroda Seiki, graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1904, and pursued further studies in Europe from 1907 to 1915 on a Ministry of Education scholarship. He later won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Gate of Hell (1953) and received the Order of Cultural Merit in 1958. 

• Title: 写真班 (Shashinhan — Photography Unit)
• Artist: Wada Sanzō (和田三造, 1883–1967)
• Series: Shōwa Shokugyō E-zukushi (昭和職業絵尽 — Japanese Vocations in Pictures)
• Publisher: Nishinomiya Shoin, 1939
• Edition: First edition; limited to 300 impressions
• Format: Dai-oban tate-e, approx. 15 3/8" × 11 3/8" (39 × 29 cm); color woodblock print on washi

Condition: Strong impression and color. Matted 18.75" W × 14.75" H.