Towards the end of 1935 Rakusan Rakusan had still been unable to obtain backing for his next double-oban woodblock print series. He therefore began to create smaller and simpler versions of some of his landscape paintings in hopes of funding a more limited series. In 1936 Rakusan produced a small number of small landscape paintings depicting familiar Kyoto landmarks in winter. This series is called here Landscapes: Kyoto 3 (LK3). These small sketches were executed on paper of roughly chuban size using a limited palette of black, brown, blue, dark green, and white pigments.

Rakusan friend and patron, Mr. Masao Morikawa had used a small Rakusan landscape winter card in 1935. It is likely that the LK3 series was in part targeting Morikawa in hopes that he would select another design for the following year. Morikawa was the Secretary to the President of Doshisha University, and for the winter of 1936 he requested and ultimately selected a Rakusan design showing a university building. This eleventh painting LK3-11 was modified to give more prominence to the building, and was recast in polychrome. The resultant twelfth painting LK3-12 was used as the model for the reduced size winter card print WC1936 (see following section). Because WC1936 is the only winter card in a horizontal format, it is probable that most (if not all) of the similarly horizontal LK3 paintings were created during that same 1936 preparation period. The other ten of the twelve LK3 series paintings were never made into woodblock prints.

[Section currently under construction. Subpages for items marked with [*] not yet available.]

The winter card WC1936 was produced from the original painting LK3-12. Because that painting is simultaneously both a member of its painting series, and also the prototype for a woodblock print, it has two numbers. In its role as a woodblock print model it takes its other numbering from its woodblock print, WC1936-0.

WC1936 was sent out in two versions. The original design was selected by Morikawa for use by the president of Doshisha University for whom Morikawa worked. For his own personal use Morikawa adapted the design by adding additional text within the image area. There is no indication that WC1936 had any later reprintings.

All of the winter card woodblock prints are presented together elsewhere (follow link to wintercards ).

[Click on the thumbnail images to bring up enlargements and design details.]

© 2012 (revised 2015, 2016, 2018) Dr Michael J P Nichols