Purchased by my parents in Tokyo 1961. Excellent condition. Yanaka Shiro. Writing alongside left edge and top left appear to be framing calculations?
14x9”
Hello,
This is a Japanese woodblock print titled “Evening Rain, Yanaka Pagoda, Tokyo,” attributed to Yanaka Shiro—a name likely referencing the setting rather than a known artist. The scene depicts the famous five-storied pagoda in Yanaka Cemetery, enveloped in atmospheric rain with a lone figure under a parasol, showcasing the style of shin-hanga (lit. “new prints”), a 20th-century movement that modernized ukiyo-e traditions by incorporating Western elements like perspective, realism, and lighting effects.
This subject and aesthetic are reminiscent of the work of artists such as Kawase Hasui, whose prints of Tokyo under rain and snow are iconic. While the artist attribution here is unclear, the print is consistent with the shin-hanga style popular from the 1920s–1950s. The writing noted on the margins may be printer or publisher annotations, common in studio works pre-framing.