Tohoku no Irori-ba (Home Life in Winter Time, Northern Japan), from the Nihon Jozoku-sen (Woman's Customs in Japan) series, documents traditional domestic life around the hearth in Japan's snowy north. The ethnographic dimension gives this print documentary value beyond its artistic merit. Expect to pay $300-$900, with the series context adding provenance interest.
Published with dual titles — a Japanese descriptor of the fireside domestic scene (Tohoku no irori ha) and a series title about women's customs (Nihon jozoku sen) — this print depicts winter life around the traditional sunken hearth (irori) of a northern Japanese farmhouse. The irori was the physical and social center of Tohoku domestic life, its fire warming the room, cooking the food, and gathering the family through the long winter months that Sekino knew from his Aomori childhood.
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Tohoku no irori ha (Home-life in Winter-time (Northern Japan)) / Nihon jozoku sen (Woman's Customs in Japan) was created by Jun'ichiro Sekino (関野準一郎).
Tohoku no irori ha (Home-life in Winter-time (Northern Japan)) / Nihon jozoku sen (Woman's Customs in Japan) uses Nishiki-e, Moku-hanga, and Kento, on woodblock print.
Tohoku no irori ha (Home-life in Winter-time (Northern Japan)) / Nihon jozoku sen (Woman's Customs in Japan) depicts snow scenes and winter.
