This atmospheric riverscape by Kondō Kōichirō depicts one of the famed “twelve bridges” of Itako in Ibaraki prefecture, rendered in a richly layered monochrome that merges Western pictorial sensibilities with the quiet lyricism of Nihonga. The scene unfolds along a tree-lined waterway, where wooden footbridges span the calm surface and small boats glide beneath their beams. Kondō’s subtle modulations of ink—delicate wash, dry brush, and soft stippling—capture both the shimmer of reflected light and the density of summer foliage, giving the composition a vivid sense of lived experience.Ink on paper in a superb silk mounting by Harada Shokodo of Kyoto with ivory rollers and a futo-maki roller-bar enclosed in a wooden box annotated by his wife which is in turn enclosed in a red lacquered outer wooden box. It is 67 x 145 cm (26-1/2 x 57 inches).
Born in Yamanashi Prefecture, Kondo Koichiro (1884-1962) studied at the Tokyo school of Fine Arts and started his career as a Western-style painter. After graduation, he took a position as a cartoonist at the Yomiuri Newspaper for a living. Gradually moving his work towards Japanese-style painting, his works started entering the exhibitions of the Japan Art Institute (Inten) from 1919 until 1936. After he travelled to Europe and China in 1922, he became increasingly aware of being Japanese, which affected his works thereafter. The artist's works are in the collection of the Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo among others.
