Muromachi Roofs
- Date:
- 1978
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 17 × 59.7 cm
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Typical Price
- Iconic Kyoto rooftop scene in excellent condition: $1,500–$3,500
- Good condition rooftop composition: $600–$1,800
- Standard edition impression (~100): $300–$800
Description
The tile rooftops of Muromachi — one of Kyoto's oldest commercial districts, home to the wholesale textile trade that has defined the neighborhood for centuries — extend across this 1978 composition by Karhu, the grey-green geometry of interlocking tiles creating a pattern that was among his most persistent subjects. The Muromachi rooftops are particularly dense and complex, the buildings tightly packed along narrow streets in a way that gives the aerial view an abstract quality while remaining completely specific to a particular place in Kyoto. The print is among his purest explorations of rooftop geometry.
More Prints by Clifton Karhu
More Urban Scenes Prints
A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru)
Woodblock print
View of Kabuki Theater from Matsuya (Ginza Matsuya yori Kabukiza), no. 3 from the series "Pictures of Ginza, First Series (Gashu Ginza dai isshu)"
1928
Color lithograph
Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"
1930
Color lithograph
Spring Dusk at the Tōshō Shrine in Ueno
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Muromachi Roofs was created by Clifton Karhu in 1978.
Muromachi Roofs depicts urban scenes and architecture.
Muromachi Roofs measures 17 × 59.7 cm (Oban format).