Hanga
Ise by Takahashi Hiromitsu — Japanese Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)

Ise

by Takahashi Hiromitsu

Medium:
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Image courtesy of
Hanga Ten

Description

The title points to Ise in Mie Prefecture, a region associated above all with the Ise Grand Shrine (Ise Jingū), the coastal scenery of Ise Bay, and the Meoto Iwa wedded rocks at Futamigaura. Prints titled simply Ise generally engage one of these motifs rather than a panoramic survey: the thatched chigi and katsuogi of shrine architecture, the torii standing in the surf, or the rope-bound rocks at sunrise. As a mokuhanga, the print would be produced through successive impressions from carved cherry blocks onto washi, with bokashi commonly employed to render water, sky, or the diffused light characteristic of dawn views at Futamigaura. Paired with the Miho subject in the same set, an Ise print suggests that Takahashi Hiromitsu was working within the meisho-e framework, treating sites of established cultural and religious significance. Without confirmed biographical sources for the artist, the print's place in his wider output cannot be specified beyond this thematic grouping.

More Prints by Takahashi Hiromitsu

Frequently Asked Questions

Ise was created by Takahashi Hiromitsu (高橋弘光).