Visitors to the Hachiman shrine

Date:: c. 1803/04
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

Worshippers stream through the stone torii gates and wooded approaches of a Hachiman shrine — one of many shrines across Japan dedicated to the deity of archery and war — in this color woodblock print from around 1803–04. Hachiman shrines drew a broad constituency in Edo: warriors paid homage to their martial patron, while merchants and townspeople attended the regular festivals that animated the shrine precincts.