![Title unknown [Hermit's Cell in a Forest] by Kihei Sasajima — Japanese Woodblock print, ink on paper, 1948](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/27344.jpg)
$500–$4,000. Common prints: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Sasajima's meditative prints appeal to collectors of both Japanese prints and modern art.
This 1948 ink-on-paper woodblock print depicts a hermit's dwelling deep within a forest, a subject laden with spiritual and literary significance in East Asian culture. The hermit's cell, or an (hermitage), appears throughout Japanese and Chinese literature as a place of voluntary withdrawal from worldly affairs, associated with Buddhist monks, Taoist sages, and reclusive poets. Sasajima's rendering places the small structure within enveloping trees, emphasizing its isolation and the dense natural world that surrounds it. The ink-only palette reinforces the austerity of the hermit's existence, while the forest presses in on the modest dwelling from all sides. For Sasajima, whose Buddhist convictions shaped his artistic vision, the hermit's cell represented an ideal of spiritual simplicity that resonated with his own practice.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Title unknown [Hermit's Cell in a Forest] was created by Kihei Sasajima (笹島喜平) in 1948.
Title unknown [Hermit's Cell in a Forest] depicts landscapes, religious, and trees.
Title unknown [Hermit's Cell in a Forest] measures 38.5 × 50 cm.
