Gion Festival. Shachihoko (dolphin).
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- mfa
Typical Price
$500–$4,000. Common subjects: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Maekawa's early sosaku-hanga works are historically significant. Bold, expressive prints are most valued.
Description
The Gion Festival's shachihoko — the dolphin-tiger hybrid figures that crown the roofs of Kyoto's traditional buildings and the tops of the festival yamaboko floats — is Senpan's subject in this undated print. The shachihoko is one of the most distinctive visual elements of the Gion Festival's elaborate decorative program, its fish-body and tiger-head combining two powerful protective symbols into a single form that presides over both the permanent architecture of the city and the temporary grandeur of the festival floats. Senpan renders it with the bold visual confidence appropriate to such an assertive subject.
More Prints by Maekawa Senpan
More Summer Prints
Bull Festival at Koryuji
広隆寺牛祭
Woodblock print
February (The Annual Festival of the Fushimi Inari)
二月 (伏見稲荷大社祭)
second half 20th century
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
July (Gorgeous Procession of Yama-hoko or the Floats at the Gion Festival)
七月 (祇園祭山鉾巡行)
second half 20th century
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
August (The Bonfire Festival of the Daimonji Hill Viewed from the Sanjo Bridge)
八月 (三条大橋より大文字)
second half 20th century
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gion Festival. Shachihoko (dolphin). was created by Maekawa Senpan (前川千帆).
Gion Festival. Shachihoko (dolphin). depicts summer.