Soshu Oyama Roben no taki 相州大山ろうべんの瀧 / Shokoku Taki-meguri 諸国瀧廻り

Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Source:: British Museum

Typical Price

Later reprint (Meiji–Taisho era publishers): $100–$600
Good later impression (Edo-period, softened lines): $5,000–$20,000
Good early impression (crisp bokashi gradation, vivid color): $20,000–$80,000
Fine early impression (exceptional condition and color intensity): $80,000–$150,000

From Hokusai's A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces (c.1833–34), the first ukiyo-e series devoted solely to waterfalls. A fine impression of Yoro Waterfall sold for $100,000—10× its low estimate. A complete set of 8 prints achieved $508,500.

Description

The Roben waterfall on Oyama in Sagami Province — site of the celebrated Oyama (Afuri-jinja) mountain pilgrimage — appears in this print from the Shokoku Taki-meguri (Tour of Waterfalls) series. Oyama was one of Edo's most popular pilgrimage destinations, a steep volcanic mountain whose waterfall-fed streams carried the combined holiness of water, mountain, and ascetic religious practice.