Untitled

Kiyochika's untitled abstract prints occupy a specific position in his catalog as works in which the atmospheric techniques he applied to topographic subjects — gradated [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi), layered darks, luminous focal points — operate without an anchoring landmark or narrative. This print likely exploits the [washi](/glossary/washi) surface's capacity to hold a range of ink densities simultaneously, from the near-opaque black of a deep shadow to the faint warmth of a barely-inked passage simulating diffused daylight. His printers, working at publishers such as Matsuki Heikichi, were among the most technically capable in Meiji Tokyo, and the quality of impression in such prints reflects that collaboration. The formal concerns evident in the kosen-ga series anticipate certain developments in European printmaking of the same period.