Koishikawa Plum Garden
by Ogata Gekko
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
- Image courtesy of
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
Koishikawa Korakuen, one of Edo's oldest stroll gardens, maintained a celebrated plum grove that drew visitors for early spring umemi viewing before the cherry blossom season. This meisho-e print depicts the garden's plum trees, their gnarled branches bearing white or pale pink blossoms characteristic of ume in late winter. Bokashi gradation across the sky—often moving from a warm coral near the horizon to a cold indigo overhead—was a standard compositional device for such seasonal views. Figures of visitors in Meiji-era dress beneath the trees provide human scale and narrative presence. This print and its companion variant suggest Gekko produced more than one compositional interpretation of the Koishikawa subject, exploring different vantage points or seasonal light conditions across the two designs.
More Prints by Ogata Gekko
MORNING GLORIES AT IRIYA, TOKYO
Woodblock print
Nippon-damashii, Kyokaku 日本魂 侠客 / Gekko zuihitsu 月耕随筆
Woodblock print
Onodera Koemon Hidetomi 小野寺幸右衛門秀富 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Beauties Harvesting Bracken, from the series Gekkō’s Miscellaney
c. 1886–1899
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
More Animals Prints
Snake Charmers (Hebizukai)
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
Hoshifuri Pine at Zen'yoji Temple in Edogawa (Edogawa-ku Zen'yoji Hoshifuri matsu), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
Drawing for Rabbit and Boy
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
Rabbit and Boy
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Frequently Asked Questions
Koishikawa Plum Garden was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).
Koishikawa Plum Garden depicts animals.