Woodblock Print by Katsuyuki Nishijima, "Arrow Bamboo Drying Day" (Yatake Bi)

Woodblock Print by Katsuyuki Nishijima, "Arrow Bamboo Drying Day" (Yatake Bi). Artist signed print. Ca. 1980's. Horizontal format; H. 7.5"(19cm) X W. 10.5"(26.75cm). Excellent condition. *Fully matted, framed, & delivered option may be available for local purchasers (I-5 corridor from Seattle to Blaine, WA). Please contact for details.  The image of a wooden lattice faced building, with noren (shop curtain), and stacked barrels outside indicates some kind of artisan producer's building. It is, in fact, the Honda Miso factory, founded in 1830 in Kyoto's Kamigyo District, and looks quite the same today. The first generation master brewer was Mr. Tanbaya, and the shop curtain (pictured in the print, and now) has the kanji character, "Tan." Since their founding, Tanbaya's miso has been presented to to the Imperial Palace, then in Kyoto. Not until after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 was it available to the general public. After 1868 when Tokyo become the "Eastern Capital," Kyoto came t