Fleeting — うたかた

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

"Foam" or "Fleeting" (うたかた, utakata) — the Japanese term for the bubbles that form on water and burst in an instant, used figuratively for anything transient and insubstantial. Utakata is one of the classical Japanese terms for ephemeral beauty, appearing in poetry and prose to evoke the awareness of impermanence that underlies mono no aware. Nakajima Kiyoshi's choice of this title places his work squarely within the Japanese aesthetic tradition's ongoing contemplation of transience — the same concern that makes cherry blossoms the quintessential Japanese beauty, because they are so quickly gone.