Original Nishimura Hodo Woodblock Print Pink "Lotus Flowers" 1938

Nishimura Hodo (西村蒲堂, active 1930s–1940s)

“Lotus Flowers” (蓮の花)
Dated May 1938 (Shōwa 13), published by Takemura Hideo

A tranquil woodblock print (木版画, mokuhanga) by Nishimura Hodo, depicting lotus blossoms and broad leaves rendered in delicate tones of pink and green. The print captures the fleeting purity of summer lotus flowers (hasu no hana 蓮の花), a motif long symbolic of spiritual awakening and renewal in Japanese and Buddhist art.

The composition displays Hodo’s hallmark precision and grace: finely embossed veins on the petals, softly modulated bokashi color transitions, and a carefully balanced asymmetry that emphasizes the natural rhythm of growth and bloom. This work was printed in May 1938 (Shōwa 13) by Takemura Hideo, one of Kyoto’s prominent publishers of shin-hanga and kachō-e (bird-and-flower) subjects during the early Shōwa era.

Signature: 蒲堂 (Hodō), with artist’s red seal
Inscription: 昭和十三年五月の作 (Made in May, Shōwa 13 [1938])
Publisher: 版権所有 竹村秀雄 (Hanken shoyū Takemura Hideo)
Format: Ōban tate-e (大判竪絵, vertical oban)
Condition: Excellent color and impression, with strong embossing and soft gradation; minor age toning to margins. However, pasted to board. 

Nishimura Hodo (西村蒲堂) was an accomplished yet little-documented shin-hanga artist active in the 1930s and 1940s, known primarily for his lyrical kachō-e (bird-and-flower) woodblock prints published by Takemura Hideo of Kyoto. His works, including Lotus Flowers and Camellia and Bluebird, combine refined design with technical mastery—subtle bokashi gradations, fine line engraving, and gentle embossing—reflecting both traditional Japanese sensitivity and the modern realism of the shin-hanga movement.