$1,500–$10,000. Common prints: $1,500–$3,000. Key value factors: Settai's literary elegance and refined technique have a niche but devoted following among collectors of Japanese aestheticism.
Settai presents a playful reinterpretation of Hanshan and Shide, the legendary Chinese Buddhist monks known in Japanese as Kanzan and Jittoku, who are traditionally depicted as laughing, eccentric figures embodying spiritual freedom. This 1941 oban woodblock print reimagines the pair through the lens of mitate-e, the ukiyo-e tradition of visual parody, updating their iconography with Settai's refined line work and modern design sensibility. The monks are typically shown with a broom and a scroll, symbols of their carefree rejection of worldly convention. Settai's version retains these attributes while filtering the composition through his own spare, elegant style, creating a bridge between Zen subject matter and shin-hanga aesthetics.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
A parody of Hanshin and Shide, two chinese monks was created by Komura Settai (小村雪岱) in 1941.
A parody of Hanshin and Shide, two chinese monks was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1941).
A parody of Hanshin and Shide, two chinese monks depicts figures, religious, and mythology.
