SANSUI (landscape)
by Ido Masao
Description
Sansui, the Japanese word for landscape, literally translates as mountains and water, naming the two elements that East Asian aesthetic tradition considers essential to any complete landscape composition. Ido Masao's oban woodblock print takes this elemental concept as its title and presumably as its compositional principle, presenting a scene built from the interplay of elevated terrain and flowing or still water. The sansui tradition has its roots in Chinese ink painting but was thoroughly naturalized in Japan, where the mountainous, water-rich geography provides endless material for the genre. Ido renders this archetypal landscape in woodblock, where mountains can be built from stacked color blocks and water suggested through smooth, unbroken ink surfaces that contrast with the textured irregularity of rock and forest.
More Prints by Ido Masao
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
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
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
SANSUI (landscape) was created by Ido Masao (井堂雅夫).
SANSUI (landscape) depicts landscapes.