Ohara Shoson (1877-1947) Japanese woodblock print "Herons in Reeds"; published by Watanabe Shozaburo; originally issued in 1926; with Shoson signature and seal to lower right side as well as another small seal to bottom left corner (small tear has made it illegible, but it is perhaps the Watanabe seal); unframed; measures approximately 14-3/4" x 10"; in Good condition with light toning throughout as well as a small tear to lower left over seal. Ohara Koson was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, part of the shin-hanga ("new prints") movement. He was born Ohara Matao; it is thought that he started training in painting and design at the Ishikawa Prefecture Technical School in 1889-1893. He also studied painting with Suzuki Kason (1860-1919), although accounts differ on whether this happened during his school years or after he moved to Tokyo in the middle to late 1890s. In Tokyo, he produced some woodblock triptychs illustrating episodes of the Russo-Japanese War, but most of his production was prints of animals. He worked at first with publishers Akiyama Buemon (Kokkeido)