Itō Shinsui (Japan, 1898-1972) Print, dai oban tate-e, from the series Gendai bijinshū dai-nishū (現代美人集第二輯), Second collection of modern beauties, plate Kotatsu (こたつ), Heating table. Signed Shinsui ga, Shinsui stamp. Watanabe Shōzaburō publisher and stamp. Dated the 12th month of Showa 6 (1931). Numbered on the reverse 196/250. Micaceous background. (Small pinholes). Size 42.9 x 27.8 cm Still used today in many Japanese homes, the kotatsu (heating table) is a low table covered with a thick blanket and placed above an irori, a fireplace set into the tatami-covered floor. This type of heating was very common in Japan. The 'Second Collection of Modern Beauties' series consists of twelve prints, each printed in 250 copies. It took Shinsui five years to complete this series, as he spent a lot of time on his paintings. Reference: This print is reproduced in: Uhlenbeck, Dwinger, Ouweleen, Shin hanga: Les Estampes Modernes du Japon 1900-1960, Éditions Hazan (2022), p.107 A similar print in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, no. 2002.161.95