SHIRAKAWA (Shira River)
Typical Price
$1,000–$6,000. Common subjects: $1,000–$2,000. Key value factors: Nishijima's nostalgic Japanese village scenes appeal to collectors worldwide. Limited editions maintain value well.
Description
The Shirakawa River flows through central Kyoto from north to south, its banks lined with the willow trees and stone embankments that have made this stretch one of the city's most atmospheric urban waterways. Nishijima renders the Shirakawa with his characteristic combination of architectural and natural precision: the stone embankment walls, the bridge crossings, the riverbed visible through clear mountain water, the ochaya buildings of the Gion district rising on one bank. The Shirakawa's intimate scale — small enough to step across in places — gives it a different character from Japan's great rivers, and Nishijima captures this intimacy.
More Prints by Katsuyuki Nishijima
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
SHIRAKAWA (Shira River) was created by Katsuyuki Nishijima (西島勝之).
SHIRAKAWA (Shira River) depicts landscapes and rivers & lakes.