One of Ryusei Kishida's famous Reiko portraits will be put up for public auction at a Tokyo hotel Saturday.

"Portrait of Reiko with woolen knit shawl" (1920)

According to Tokyo-based fine art auctioneer Shinwa Art Auction, it is extremely rare that any of the Reiko portraits, most of which are owned by museums, appear as auction items.

The name of the current owner of this work has not been released by the auctioneer, but art pundits say it is being sold to help pay off the debts of one of Japan's failed banks.

The Reiko portrait series is considered representative of Japan's Western painting scene during the Taisho Era.

The version to go under the hammer this week is titled "Portrait of Reiko with Woolen Knit Shawl," an oil painting done in 1920 depicting Kishida's daughter Reiko, then 6 years old.

It was painted one year before the famous Tokyo National Museum version, which has been designated an important cultural asset.

Kishida explored Western-style painting for most of his artistic career and was influenced by Post-Impressionism and the realism of Northern Renaissance painting. He then switched to Japanese-style painting in the early 1920s. According to critics, this version shows signs of the artist's development away from photographic realism.

The painting is estimated to fetch between 250 million yen and 350 million yen, according to the auctioneer.

Two other works by Kishida, "Portrait of the Artist's Wife" and "Lane in Summer," will also be offered in the auction, which will be held at 4 p.m. at the Diamond Hotel in Chiyoda Ward. All paintings will be shown Nov. 30-Dec. 2 at the Art Museum Ginza.

For more information, call the auctioneer at (0120) 01-1135.