Fine Rain- Itosame — 糸雨
- 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
"Thread Rain" (糸雨, itosame) — the Japanese term for the finest, most delicate rain, composed of drops so small they resemble threads of falling silk. Nakajima Kiyoshi's treatment of this delicate meteorological phenomenon shows his sensitivity to the subtle modulations of weather that Japanese aesthetics has always taken seriously: the distinction between heavy rain and light rain, between rain that falls straight down and rain that blows sideways in gusts, between the rain that soaks and the rain that merely moistens the air. Thread rain (itosame) is associated with spring in Japanese poetry, a gentle moisture that coaxes growth rather than assaulting it.
