Road to Ikaruga C (Ikaruga michi C)

This 1970 woodblock print, issued in an edition of fifty, returns to the Ikaruga road that Sasajima depicted in multiple works across his career. The "C" designation indicates a third variation on the theme, each version offering a different visual interpretation of the same pilgrimage route to Horyu-ji temple. The limited edition format of twenty out of fifty prints reflects the sosaku-hanga practice of controlled editions, where the artist-printer determined the exact number of impressions pulled from each block. By 1970, Sasajima had been exploring this subject for over two decades, and the later versions likely show a more distilled, confident handling than the earlier iterations. The road to Ikaruga had become for Sasajima something like a personal meditation, a subject he could revisit without repetition because each encounter brought fresh perception.