The edition type is the primary value driver for Yoshida prints. The jizuri seal — indicating the artist personally supervised every aspect of printing — typically commands 2–3× the price of posthumous reprints. Standard jizuri prints of Japanese landscapes cluster around $2,149 at dealer level (1stDibs benchmark). PBS Antiques Roadshow valued a pair of lifetime prints at $2,500 total (~$1,250 each) for non-jizuri examples.
Suzhou — the ancient canal city west of Shanghai known since the Tang dynasty as the "Venice of the East" for its network of waterways, classical gardens, and silk industry — appears in this undated print (Soshu being the Japanese reading of the Chinese characters for Suzhou) as a city defined by water. Yoshida's treatment likely focuses on the canal system that threads through the old city, with its stone bridges, whitewashed walls, and wooden boats, the combination of architecture and water providing compositional material analogous to the Venice prints he made during his European travels. The parallel between Suzhou and Venice was not lost on Yoshida, who had depicted both cities and could bring a rare comparative perspective to each.
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Soshu (Suzhou) was created by Hiroshi Yoshida (吉田博).
Soshu (Suzhou) uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
Soshu (Suzhou) was published by Yoshida Studio.
Soshu (Suzhou) depicts urban scenes, rivers & lakes, and travel scenes.
