Background
Nakagawa Isaku (中川伊作), 1899-2000, was born in Kyoto and graduated from the Kyoto Shiritsu Bijutsu Kôgei Gakkô (Kyoto City School of Fine Arts and Crafts) in 1918 (studying with Kikuchi Keigetsu, 1879-1955) and the Kyoyo Shiritsu Kaiga Senmon Gakkô (Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting) in 1921. He was involved in the formation of the Kyoto Sôsaku-hanga Kyôkai (Kyoto Creative Print Society: 京都創作版画協会) in 1929 and was a member of Nihon Hanga Kyôkai (Japan Print Association, founded in 1931) from 1932. Nakagawa's prints of women issued in the 1930s are admired for, among other things, their detailed and accurately rendered textile patterns. He was also fond of depicting fish subjects, as in the example offered here.
For more information, see Nakagawa Isaku Biography. and John Fiorillo's webpage Nakagawa Isaku.
Design
This is an excellent example of the artist's work, featuring richly printed renderings of fish with a mica ground on thick paper.