The Swordsmith on Mount Inari
by Ogata Gekko
- Date:
- 1887
- Medium:
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Victoria and Albert Museum
Description
A swordsmith at the Inari shrine—sacred to the fox deity and patron of metalworkers and merchants—is a subject steeped in Meiji-era reverence for traditional craft at a moment when industrialization was rapidly displacing it. Gekko renders the craftsman in dynamic pose against the shrine's distinctive vermillion architecture, the forging of a blade depicted as both technical act and sacred ritual. The 1887 date places this among his early works, establishing the historical figure-in-landscape format that would characterize much of his output.
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 Figures Prints
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Swordsmith on Mount Inari was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕) in 1887.
The Swordsmith on Mount Inari depicts figures, temples & shrines, and craftspeople.