by Minami Kunzo
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.
Titled with a reference to Suzuki Harunobu, the pioneering Edo-period [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) master who invented full-color [nishiki-e](/glossary/nishiki-e) printing in the 1760s, this woodblock print by Minami Kunzo may depict a subject inspired by or paying homage to Harunobu's legacy. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this work. Harunobu was famous for his delicate images of slender young women and poetic allusions, and later artists frequently revisited his themes and compositions as a form of artistic dialogue across centuries. Kunzo's engagement with the Harunobu tradition fits within the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) movement's broader project of reconnecting modern Japanese printmaking with its ukiyo-e roots while bringing updated color sensibilities and printing techniques to classical subject matter.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Suzuki Harunobu was created by Minami Kunzo (南薫造).
Suzuki Harunobu depicts figures and bijin-ga.
