May — 其五藤見
- Date:
- 1898
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
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.
"May" (其五藤見 — literally "the fifth, wisteria viewing") from 1898 depicts the May tradition of wisteria viewing — the cascading purple clusters of wisteria blossoms that were, after cherry blossoms, among the most celebrated flowering spectacles of the Japanese spring. Famous wisteria gardens like Kameido Tenjin in Tokyo drew crowds in May, and the social occasion of wisteria viewing provided Shuntei with a subject combining seasonal beauty, female social life, and the specific visual drama of the long hanging flower clusters.
May — 其五藤見 was created by Miyagawa Shuntei (宮川春汀) in 1898.
May — 其五藤見 depicts birds & flowers, figures, and spring.
