Hakuho HIRANO (1879–1957) Kagami no mae (Before the Mirror), 1932, colour woodblock print with gold metallic pigment, dai-ōban tate-e format, signed ‘Hakuhō ga’, artist’s seal, dated on the box. Publisher: Watanabe Shōzaburō, pre-war publisher’s seal, 45 x 26.5 cm Note: Hirano Hakuhō (1879–1957), a painter born in Kyoto and associated with the shin-hanga movement, left behind only a handful of prints depicting women, published in 1932 by Watanabe Shōzaburō in limited and numbered editions (90 to 100 copies). He depicts his models from behind or in the privacy of their dressing room. *In front of the mirror*, where the face appears only as a reflection, is his masterpiece and one of his most sought-after prints.