Mt Myoko-zan at dawn
by Ito Takashi
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
Mount Myoko, a 2,454-meter stratovolcano in Niigata Prefecture, is shown at dawn in this oban woodblock print. Ito Takashi captures the brief interval when early light strikes the upper slopes while the lowlands remain in shadow, using layered color printing to differentiate the warm tones of sunlit snow from the cool blues of shaded terrain. Myoko-san, one of the Hundred Famous Mountains of Japan, offered Ito a subject with both dramatic elevation and complex surface texture, its volcanic contours catching light in ways that differ markedly from the smooth cone of Fuji. The dawn setting required Ito to work with a compressed and rapidly shifting color palette, translating the ephemeral warmth of first light into the fixed pigments of the woodblock print. The result freezes a moment that in reality lasts only minutes.
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
Mt Myoko-zan at dawn was created by Ito Takashi (伊東孝).
Mt Myoko-zan at dawn depicts landscapes, snow scenes, and night scenes.