Sanzo Wada
Sanzo Wada graduated from the Western-style painting division of Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Studied in Europe 1907-1915; traveled to India and Burma. Appointed Member Imperial Arts Academy in 1927 and taught at Tokyo School of Fine arts from 1927. According to Shinagawa Kiyoomi, editor-in-chief of the book of paintings in print "Dia Nihon Gyorui Gashuu" by Ohno Bakufu, Sanzo Wada wanted to make a series of prints that expressed the rapid modernisation that Japan was experiencing in the 1930s. As an example of this modernisation, he chose to depict workers in Showa-era occupations, not just those occupations of recent times, but also those traditional occupations that were gradually disappearing.
To do this, Wada brought together woodblock print printers and carvers from as far away as Kyoto and Tokyo, and housed them and their families in a lodging house that he purchased in Nishinomiya near Kobe. The publication of this series by Nishinomiya Sho-In, called "Japanese Vocations in Pictures" (Showa Shokugyo E-Zukushi, or 昭和職業絵尽 in Japanese script) commenced in Showa 13 (1938), and it was Wada's plan to publish 2 new prints every month until a total of 100 designs had been completed. His prints often appeared in the main Japanese newspapers, and Asahi Newspaper even used their resident woodblock print artist Yoshida to critique Wada's work. This series by Wada became an instant hit, and orders for his prints flooded in, not just from customers in mainland Japan, but also from places as far away as Karafuto (the Japanese name for Sakhalin Island), Manchuu (the pre-war Japanese name for Manchuria), and even Singapore. However, (according to Shinagawa Kiyoomi) because to the deteriorating domestic conditions due to the war, publication was suspended Showa 18 (1943). In the end, Wada was only able to publish a total of 48 prints during the war period, as two series each containing 24 prints. New prints were indeed issued a pair at a time on a monthly basis, but perhaps due to war-time hardships there were no prints published in some months. After the war, Kyoto Hanga-In continued the series under the name "Continuing Japanese Vocations in Pictures", with 24 scenes being published (during the period 1954 to 1956), so the originally planned issue of a total of 100 scenes was not fulfilled. I have been able to confirm that the pre-war series were limited-editions of 300 prints per scene. The first pair of prints were issued in June 1939, and the latest confirmed date for prints 21 and 22 from the second series were issued in June 1941. Soon after Wada issued a limited edition set in a deluxe album containing all 48 prints. The third series published in the 1950s by Kyoto Hanga-In entitled "Continuing Japanese Vocations in Pictures" (Zoku Showa Shokugyo Ezukushi) was also issued as a limited-edition series. The earliest print date that I can confirm is November 1954, and the latest date that I can confirm is September 1956. It is most likely that prints were issued and sold in pairs generally on a monthly basis, but as per the original pre-war series, in some months no prints were issued. I have prints from this series available here.
Japanese Vocations in Pictures   昭和職業絵尽
Inn for Sailors	Gasoline Service	Soldiers Quarters	Pilgrim	Picture Story Show
Goldfish Shop	Zen priest of the Fuke sect	Fish Shop	Salaryman	Lathe Operator
Professional Tennis Player		Horse Shoe Maker (?)	Artist of Western Music	Bath House
Shoe Repair, Shoe Cleaning	Farming Family	Oden Stall	Sake Distiller	Fishing Pond
Professional Boxing	Flower Vendor	Evening Paper Vendor	Coal Vendor	Blacksmith
Salvation Army	Kendou Instructor	Sword Sharpener	Stone Mason	Female Hairdresser
Iron Worker	Women Weaving	Soba Vendor	Fisherman	Dancer
Cook	Milking	Potter	Riverboat Captain

Wada Sanzo

In early 2009 I was finally able to purchase an original album set of this third series of Japanese Vocations, including the original album of course. I can now confirm that there were a total of 24 prints in this series. Each print has its tissue paper cover mounted to the verso's top edge and folded over the front of the print. This tissue cover contains the scene explanation in both English and Japanese. Besides the album sets, I think pairs of prints were also issued to subscription members, so I'm assuming that the edition sizes were 200 for subscription and 200 for the album sets (total of 400 strikes per scene). This would explain the appearance of duplicate edition numbers for the same scene, and the fact that some prints are printed on watermarked paper, while others are printed on un-watermarked paper of slightly smaller dimensions (my album set is printed on watermarked paper).

Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Continued (Third series)

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Professional Golfer Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1954 November

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Cormorant Fisherman Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1954 November

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Lesson in Calligraphic Writing Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1954 December

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Shoe Shiner Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1954 December

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Sumo Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 January

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Go Lesson Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 February

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Ox-Cart Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 February

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Dollmakers Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 March

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Maiko Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 April

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Bicycle Race Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 April

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Ama- Fisherwoman Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 September

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Noh Players Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 September

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Day-Labourer Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 November

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Drum Maker Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 November

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Railway Workers Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 December

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Music Master Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1955 December

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Dying Shop Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1956 March

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Professional Photographers Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1956 April

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Coal Miners Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1956 April

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Welder Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1956 June

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Baseball Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1956 August

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Small Bird Shop Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1956 August

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Nuns Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1956 September

Artist: Wada, Sanzo (1883-1967) Title: Mendicant Priest Series: Japanese Vocations in Pictures - Series 3 Date: 1956 September