Hikaru umi (The Sparkling Sea)
- Date:
- 1926
- Medium:
- Woodcut, color print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Yoshida Studio
- Source:
- Library of Congress
Description
"Hikaru umi" — the sparkling sea — is one of Yoshida's most purely lyrical titles, the Japanese phrase evoking the particular brilliance of sunlight scattering across open water. This 1926 woodcut (an alternative medium designation to woodblock print) captures the sea's surface in full midday light, the myriad reflections rendered through careful bokashi gradation and precise color layering. The work demonstrates Yoshida's ability to make light itself — transient, atmospheric, impossible to hold — the primary subject of a technically demanding print.
More Prints by Hiroshi Yoshida
More Seascapes Prints
Child of the Sea
1940
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Pacific Ocean, Awa Province (Boshu Taikai), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
Boshu Taikai
1925
Color woodblock print; oban
Pine Beach at Miho (Miho no Matsubara), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"
September 1931
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hikaru umi (The Sparkling Sea) was created by Hiroshi Yoshida (吉田博) in 1926.
Hikaru umi (The Sparkling Sea) was published by Yoshida Studio (1926).
Hikaru umi (The Sparkling Sea) depicts seascapes.