Wisteria

Date:: 1935
Medium:: Color woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 40.1 × 27.1 cm
Publisher:: Yoshida Studio
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

From Yoshida's later career (1935–1950), these prints show his technical mastery at full maturity. Later-decade prints slightly trail peak-period 1920s works at auction, but jizuri impressions of desirable subjects still command strong prices. Standard jizuri Japanese landscapes follow the dealer benchmark of approximately $2,149; Sacred Bridge, Nikko (1937) sold for $800 at Schmidt's Antiques for a pencil-signed example.

Jizuri (artist-supervised) seal: $1,200–$3,500
Studio edition (no jizuri): $600–$1,800
Posthumous/family workshop reprint: $250–$700

Description

"Wisteria" is a shin-hanga / self-published nature study by Hiroshi Yoshida, created during the Taisho and Showa periods. This work belongs to the kacho-e (bird-and-flower) tradition, one of the most celebrated genres in Japanese art.

Hiroshi Yoshida brings characteristic sensitivity to this naturalistic subject, combining precise observation with poetic atmosphere. The composition balances the living subjects with their environment, creating a scene that feels both scientifically accurate and emotionally resonant.

The technical execution reveals the sophisticated printmaking tradition behind this image — from the precise registration of multiple color blocks to the subtle gradations that give depth and luminosity to the natural subjects.

This print represents Hiroshi Yoshida's contribution to the shin-hanga / self-published tradition during the Taisho and Showa periods. As with all works by this artist, it reflects both individual artistic vision and the broader cultural moment in which it was created. For collectors and admirers of Japanese printmaking, it offers a window into the sophisticated aesthetic world that produced some of the most beloved images in art history.