by Ito Sozan
$200–$1,500. Common bird prints: $200–$500. Key value factors: Ito Sozan's bird-and-flower prints are charming and affordably priced. Well-preserved examples with vivid color are most valued.
This [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print is cataloged under Ito Sozan's name and birth year of 1884, indicating a record that references the artist rather than the work's specific subject. Sozan was active in the early twentieth century during the period when the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) movement was revitalizing Japanese woodblock printing through collaborations between artists, carvers, and printers. His subjects centered on birds, flowers, animals, and occasional bijin figures, all rendered with the technical refinement and atmospheric sensitivity that shin-hanga publishers demanded. The 1884 birth date places Sozan as a contemporary of other shin-hanga artists like Ohara Koson, with whom he shares a focus on natural subjects. Whatever this particular print depicts, it belongs to a body of work that treated the natural world with both scientific attention and aesthetic grace.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Ito Sozan (1884-) was created by Ito Sozan (伊藤宗山).
Ito Sozan (1884-) depicts landscapes.
