Evening bell at Mii Temple

Date:: Unknown
Medium:: Color woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Later reprint or reproduction (20th-century): $50–$300
Good later impression (Edo-period): $1,000–$5,000
Good early impression (vivid color, legible detail): $5,000–$20,000
Fine early impression (exceptional color and condition): $20,000–$60,000

Hokusai's genre scenes, bijin-ga (beautiful women), and miscellaneous subjects represent the breadth of his career across more than seven decades. The market for non-landscape Hokusai prints has strengthened as collectors seek beyond the most famous designs.

Description

The evening bell of Mii-dera temple on the southern shore of Lake Biwa is the subject of this print, depicting the ancient Buddhist temple whose great bell was regarded as one of the most resonant in Japan. Hokusai treated this canonical scene from the Eight Views of Omi tradition, capturing the atmospheric convergence of dusk light, water, and ancient architecture that made Mii-dera a perennial subject for Japanese artists.