Biography
Kotozuka Eiichi (琴塚英一, 1906-1979) spent his entire career in Kyoto, producing a large body of woodblock landscape prints devoted almost exclusively to the temples, gardens, shrines, and seasonal scenery of the ancient capital and its surroundings. Working outside the major Tokyo publishing houses, he self-published most of his prints through his own studio, employing local Kyoto carvers and printers while maintaining close oversight of every stage of production.
Born in 1906, Kotozuka came of age as the shin-hanga movement reached its height and absorbed its atmospheric landscape idiom -- the careful rendering of weather, light, and seasonal mood that Kawase Hasui and Hiroshi Yoshida had elevated into an internationally recognized style. But where those artists ranged across all of Japan, Kotozuka narrowed his lens to a single city. His subjects were Kinkaku-ji gilded by morning sun, Ginkaku-ji dusted with late snow, the moss garden of Saiho-ji in green summer light, the torii of Fushimi Inari receding into fog, cherry blossoms arching over the philosopher's path along the canal at Nanzen-ji.
His technical approach favored restrained color and quiet tonal gradation over dramatic effect. Greens tended toward olive and sage rather than emerald; blues ran to slate and smoke rather than cobalt. Skies were often left as bare paper or tinted with a single pale wash, allowing the architectural subjects to anchor the composition without competing with background spectacle. Snow scenes and autumn foliage views drew out the strongest contrasts in his palette, and these seasonal subjects remain his most sought-after prints.
As a self-publisher, Kotozuka controlled his edition sizes and printing schedules, which meant output was steady but distribution was limited. His prints sold through Kyoto shops and directly to visitors rather than through the international dealer networks that promoted major shin-hanga publishers. This kept his name out of the Western collector consciousness for decades.
Kotozuka continued printing through the 1970s, sustaining the shin-hanga landscape tradition well past the movement's commercial peak. He died in 1979, leaving behind one of the most comprehensive visual surveys of Kyoto's sacred architecture rendered in the woodblock medium. His prints offer an unusually deep and focused portrait of a single Japanese city across the seasons and decades.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1906–1979
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movement
- Shin-hanga
Frequently Asked Questions
Kotozuka Eiichi (琴塚英一, 1906-1979) spent his entire career in Kyoto, producing a large body of woodblock landscape prints devoted almost exclusively to the temples, gardens, shrines, and seasonal scenery of the ancient capital and its surroundings. Working outside the major Tokyo publishing houses, he self-published most of his prints through his own studio, employing local Kyoto carvers and printers while maintaining close oversight of every stage of production.
Kotozuka Eiichi was active from 1906 to 1979. They were associated with the Shin-hanga movement.
Kotozuka Eiichi's work was shaped by the Shin-hanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Shin-hanga: The "new prints" movement (c.
Kotozuka Eiichi's prints frequently feature temples & shrines, landscapes, trees, snow scenes, birds & flowers, night scenes.
Original prints by Kotozuka Eiichi can be found in collections including Japanese Art Open Database, ukiyo-e.org, Ohmi Gallery, Robyn Buntin of Honolulu.
Kotozuka Eiichi's prints of Kyoto temples and gardens are among the most affordable shin-hanga landscape prints available, making them an accessible entry point for collectors. He self-published extensively, and later printings are common and inexpensive. Most prints sell in the $150-$600 range. His work focuses almost exclusively on Kyoto's famous temples, shrines, and gardens, depicted across the seasons. Snow scenes and autumn foliage subjects tend to be the most popular. Early editions show better color quality and sharper detail than later printings, and the difference in quality can be significant. Kotozuka's prints are widely available through dealers and online platforms, and his work offers good value for collectors who enjoy atmospheric depictions of Kyoto. While he lacks the name recognition of major shin-hanga artists, his best prints demonstrate genuine skill and aesthetic sensitivity.