$200–$1,500. Fish prints are among the most collected subjects for this artist. Good nature prints: $500–$1,000. Key value factors: Shoda Koho's elegant nature prints are beautifully produced and accessible to beginning collectors.
This oban woodblock print depicts a fishing boat on a moonlit sea, its sail and hull silhouetted against the luminous sky. The moon's reflection stretches across the water in a broad band of pale light that provides the composition's central axis. Shoda positions the boat off-center, its dark form interrupting the silvery expanse with a human presence that is both tiny and purposeful. The fisherman's world is defined by these hours of darkness on open water, and Shoda captures the particular loneliness and beauty of night fishing with an economy of means. The sea is rendered through horizontal bands of varying tone, suggesting gentle swells rather than dramatic waves. The sail catches just enough moonlight to read as a pale triangle against the deeper sky, a geometric accent in an otherwise fluid composition.
1940
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Boshu Taikai
1925
Color woodblock print; oban
September 1931
Color woodblock print; oban
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Fishboat on Moonlit Sea was created by Koho Shoda (庄田耕峰).
Fishboat on Moonlit Sea depicts seascapes, moonlight, and night scenes.
