Hanga
− by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print

by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Waseda University

Description

Among Kiyochika's woodblock prints, untitled works like this one frequently document the liminal spaces of Meiji Tokyo: riverbanks, bridge approaches, temple precincts, and industrial wharves where traditional and modern elements coexisted in uneasy proximity. His compositional choices consistently subordinated anecdotal narrative to atmospheric coherence, and even prints that include figures tend to dematerialize them into silhouette or shadow. The printing technique employs the full range of pigments available to late-Meiji workshops, with Prussian blue — a Western import that had entered the Japanese print palette in the early nineteenth century — likely contributing to the depth of sky or water passages. Washi, with its capacity to absorb pigment unevenly and create soft edges, is integral to the final effect.

More Prints by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Frequently Asked Questions

− was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).