Misty landscape
by Ito Takashi
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
A landscape dissolves into soft gradients of gray and muted color in this oban woodblock print. Ito Takashi uses mist as both subject and compositional device, allowing it to obscure portions of the terrain and compress the visible depth of the scene. Trees, hillsides, or water features emerge partially from the haze, their forms suggested rather than fully defined. The woodblock technique serves this subject well: the bokashi (gradient) printing method, achieved by varying moisture and pressure across the block, produces the seamless tonal transitions that make printed mist convincing. Among Ito's landscapes, this print stands out for its willingness to subtract visual information rather than add it, trusting the viewer to complete what the mist conceals. The result is a study in the expressive power of what is withheld.
More Prints by Ito Takashi
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
Misty landscape was created by Ito Takashi (伊東孝).
Misty landscape depicts landscapes.