A beautiful art-deco influenced bronze sculpture of a kawasemi (kingfisher) perched on a stony crag peering as if ready to leap at the passing current. It comes with the original wooden stand in the original signed wooden box titled Kawasemi (using the unusual poetic characters for the name) dated inside summer 1936 and signed Hakurei. It is 16 x 9 x 8 cm (6-1/4 x 3-1/2 x 3-1/4 inches) and is in excellent condition. A nearly identical piece by the artist is held in the Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Museum as well as the Tokyo University of Fine Arts Museum.
Yoshida Hakurei (1871–1943) was a Japanese sculptor and a core member of the Sculpture Section of the Japan Art Institute (Inten), whose works at the Bunten were accepted without jury review. Born in Honjo Ward as Rihei, he initially worked in commerce before turning to sculpture in 1901, inspired by the success of his younger brother Yoshiaki. Largely self-taught, he pursued rigorous independent study, participated in the Japan Sculpture Society, and formed a study group with Hirakushi Denchū and Naitō Shin, through which he established a distinctive personal style. His career milestones include Nen (3rd Bunten), Jakujō (commended, 7th Bunten), and Rakuga (1914), the latter leading to his election as an Inten member. Active in Inten exhibitions until his death, his remembered works include Seiin, Dobushin, Ikōto, Saigyō, Karasen, and Nun Rengetsu. He was also noted for finely carved fur-bearing animals, revealing a highly individual and expressive handling of the blade.
