Original Wada Sanzo c.1939 Woodblock Print Blacksmith Kaji Swordsmith Showa #13 18"W LS#012

Wada Sanzō (1883–1967) — Blacksmith (鍛冶, Kaji), No. 13 from Shōwa Shokugyō E-zukushi (Japanese Vocations in Pictures)

Vintage Japanese Shōwa Era, c. 1939

The Shōwa Shokugyō E-zukushi series began in 1938 and was published by Nishinomiya Shoin; the prewar sequence contains 48 prints, limited to 300 impressions each. 

The composition draws the viewer into the dim interior of an open-front smithy: a bald master smith crouches at the forge, working a length of glowing metal with tongs, while his assistant stands opposite with a long-handled hammer poised above the anvil. The brick forge mouth glows red at center; tools, bellows, and stock material fill the background shelves. A small potted plant at lower left is the only quiet note in an otherwise industrious scene. Wada's fluid, watercolor-like rendering captures both the heat and the focused physicality of the craft — a tradition already beginning to recede before the war's disruptions. Title cartouche upper right: 鍛冶 (Kaji); signature 三造 with two red artist's seals.

• Title: 鍛冶 (Kaji — Blacksmith / Swordsmith)
• Artist: Wada Sanzō (和田三造, 1883–1967)
• Series: Shōwa Shokugyō E-zukushi (昭和職業絵尽 — Japanese Vocations in Pictures), No. 13
• Publisher: Nishinomiya Shoin, c. 1939
• Edition: Limited to 300 impressions
• Format: Ōban yoko-e, approx. 14 3/8" W × 10 1/8" H (36.5 × 25.7 cm); color woodblock print on washi

Condition: Very good, some foxing. See photos for condition details.