Farm houses
by Kogan Tobari
- Date:
- Japanese, Taishô era, 20th century
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- mfa
Description
Farm Houses, a Taisho-era woodblock, depicts rural architecture with the unvarnished directness that sosaku-hanga valued. These are working buildings rather than picturesque cottages, their forms shaped by function and available materials rather than aesthetic intent. Tobari's self-carved and self-printed block gives the farmhouses a solidity appropriate to their subject, the knife marks carrying the weight of thatched roofs and heavy timber frames. The Taisho period saw rapid urbanization in Japan, making rural scenes like this one simultaneously nostalgic and documentary, recording structures that modern development was already beginning to replace.
More Prints by Kogan Tobari
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Farm houses was created by Kogan Tobari (戸張孤雁) in Japanese, Taishô era, 20th century.
Farm houses depicts landscapes, architecture, and village scenes.