Original Wada Sanzo c.1939 Woodblock Print Blacksmith Kaji Swordsmith Showa #13 18"W LS#012 Saw while the lacquered plates retain

while the lacquered plates retain strong color with areas of loss

Likely a mid Showa piece from the 1960s

The bodhisattva stands upon a multi-tiered base featuring a large open lotus flower with gilt petals

it is the polisher who reveals its true character — drawing out the hamon (temper line)

Most likely made from Northern Chinese Elm wood -Yumu

Original Wada Sanzo c.1939 Woodblock Print Blacksmith Kaji Swordsmith Showa #13 18"W LS#012 Saw while the lacquered plates retainWada Sanz (18831967) Blacksmith (, Kaji), No. 13 from Shwa Shokugy E zukushi (Japanese Vocations in Pictures) Vintage Japanese Shwa Era, c. 1939 The Shwa Shokugy 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