Twelve Storied Tower, Tokyo, 1895
by Kogan Tobari
- Date:
- Japanese, Taishô era
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- mfa
by Kogan Tobari
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.
Twelve Storied Tower, Tokyo, 1895, is a Taisho-era woodblock that looks back in time to depict the Ryounkaku, the famous twelve-story brick tower built in Asakusa in 1890. The tower was Japan's first skyscraper and a symbol of Meiji-era modernization until the 1923 earthquake destroyed it. By printing this subject during the Taisho era, Tobari was already creating a historical document, preserving a structure that represented Tokyo's first experiment with vertical ambition. The 1895 date in the title specifies a moment when the tower was still new and astonishing, a red brick column rising above the low wooden buildings of old Asakusa.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Twelve Storied Tower, Tokyo, 1895 was created by Kogan Tobari (戸張孤雁) in Japanese, Taishô era.
Twelve Storied Tower, Tokyo, 1895 depicts architecture, set at Tokyo.
