Lot 2353: Mitsutani Kunishiro (1874-1936) Boy's Day

Boy's Day
Watercolor on paper; depicting a porter and pack-horses passing through a village where koinobori (carp streamers) fly from poles above the street, signed K. Mitsutani; together with a watercolor by Miyake Katsumi (1874-1954) of blossoming cherry trees lining a road, with the conical form of Mt. Fuji in the background, signed K. Miyake.
13 1/8 x 19 1/2in (33.2 x 50cm); 9 x 12 5/8in (22.8 x 32cm)

Mitsutani Kunishiro was a prominent Western-style painter whose work was exhibited at both the Bunten and Teiten exhibitions. He studied at the Fudosha, Koyama Shotaro's private painting academy, and later joined the Western-style painting group Taiheiyo Gakai (Pacific Painting Society). Sojourns in Europe, in 1900, and again from 1911-1914, increased his stature within Japan.