Field — 野辺

Medium:: Woodblock print
Source:: Japanese Art Open Database

Typical Price

Key value factors: As self-carved and self-printed works, sosaku-hanga value is tied to the artist's reputation and edition size. Larger formats, earlier editions, and historically significant works command the highest prices.

Common examples: $100–$500
Good impressions: $500–$2,000
Premium/scarce: $2,000–$10,000

Description

"Field" or "Field's Edge" (野辺, nobe) — in Japanese, the word carries both the literal meaning of an open field or meadow and a poetic association with death and cremation (野辺送り, nobeokuri, is the funeral procession). Nakajima Kiyoshi's field compositions are typically concerned with life rather than death — the open meadow as a space of freedom and natural beauty, where children play or figures walk through tall grasses beneath wide skies. The Japanese landscape of open fields, so different from the enclosed mountain and forest terrain of many classical prints, provides Nakajima with the horizontal expanse his wind-animated compositions require.