Hanga
Raft In Yoryoko River by Kishio Koizumi — Japanese Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)

Raft In Yoryoko River

by Kishio Koizumi

Shin-hangaSōsaku-hanga
Rivers & Lakes
Medium:
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Image courtesy of
Saru Gallery

Description

A timber raft (ikada) navigates the current of the river, its lashed logs propelled by raftsmen riding atop the bundled timber. Such rafts were a working feature of Edo and early Showa Tokyo's waterways, ferrying lumber from upstream forests to the markets that supplied the capital's construction. Koizumi treats the water with the bokashi gradient typical of mokuhanga practice, the pigment fading from saturated mid-tones toward pale margins to suggest ripple and reflection. The diagonal axis of the raft cuts across the horizontal river plane, organizing the image around a single human-scale incident rather than a panoramic view. The print belongs to Koizumi's wider preoccupation with Tokyo's working landscape -- canals, bridges, ferries, freight -- subjects that situate his hand-printed sosaku-hanga method within the older meisho-e tradition of place-pictures, recording labor and infrastructure as legitimately as temples and gardens.

More Prints by Kishio Koizumi

#35 Municipal Hall by Kishio Koizumi

#35 Municipal Hall

Woodblock print

Autumn Color along the Moat at Hanzo Gate (Hanzomon go-horihata no aki iro), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)" by Kishio Koizumi

Autumn Color along the Moat at Hanzo Gate (Hanzomon go-horihata no aki iro), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"

1934

Color woodblock print; oban

The Memorial Hall of the Earthquake in Honjo, from the series One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era by Kishio Koizumi

The Memorial Hall of the Earthquake in Honjo, from the series One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era

1932

Color woodblock print; oban

Kiba Lumberyard along the River at Fukugawa (New Edition) [Fukagawa-ku, kiba no kawasuji (shinpan)], from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)" by Kishio Koizumi

Kiba Lumberyard along the River at Fukugawa (New Edition) [Fukagawa-ku, kiba no kawasuji (shinpan)], from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"

1940

Color woodblock print; oban

More Rivers & Lakes Prints

Lake Chuzenji, Nikko (Nikko Chuzenjiko) by Kawase Hasui

Lake Chuzenji, Nikko (Nikko Chuzenjiko)

Nikko Chuzenjiko

1930

Color woodblock print; oban

Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)" by Kawase Hasui

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

Gosai Canal in Niigata (Niigata Gosaibori), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)" by Kawase Hasui

Gosai Canal in Niigata (Niigata Gosaibori), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

Niigata Gosaibori

1921

Color woodblock print; oban

The Hori River at Obama (Obama Horikawa), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)" by Kawase Hasui

The Hori River at Obama (Obama Horikawa), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"

Obama Horikawa

1920

Color woodblock print; oban

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Shin-Hanga: Japan's Twentieth-Century Print RevivalSōsaku-Hanga: The Creative-Print Movement

Frequently Asked Questions

Raft In Yoryoko River was created by Kishio Koizumi (小泉癸巳男).

Raft In Yoryoko River depicts rivers & lakes.