$500–$4,000. Common landscapes: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Maeda Masao's atmospheric mountain and landscape prints have a dedicated following among sosaku-hanga collectors.
Chapter 40 of The Tale of Genji — Minori (御法, "The Rites") — depicts Murasaki's death from the illness that has been consuming her, the "rites" of the title referring to the Buddhist ceremonies she performs as she prepares for death. This chapter is among the most emotionally devastating in the novel, and Maeda Masao's illustration must find visual equivalents for the irreplaceable loss that Murasaki's death represents. His pattern-based compositional language is here put in the service of grief — the formal elegance of the court setting transformed by the finality of death into something austere and profound.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Chapter 40 - Prayer Offering - 御法 was created by Maeda Masao (前田政雄).
Chapter 40 - Prayer Offering - 御法 depicts figures, religious, and bijin-ga.
