Original Wada Sanzo c.1939 Woodblock Print Blacksmith Kaji Swordsmith Showa #13 18"W LS#012 Saw Most likely made from Northern

Most likely made from Northern Chinese Elm wood -Yumu

while the lacquered plates retain strong color with areas of loss

their pulls cast in a distinctive lobed floral form — an unusual and refined touch on a working chest

The inscription at right reads 吉祥赤富士 (Kichijō Aka Fuji — "Auspicious Red Fuji")

Original Wada Sanzo c.1939 Woodblock Print Blacksmith Kaji Swordsmith Showa #13 18"W LS#012 Saw Most likely made from NorthernWada 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