Ancient City, Nara
- Date:
- 1954
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; edition 18/100
- Dimensions:
- 45.5 × 60.3 cm
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Nara—Japan's first permanent capital, now a quiet city where deer wander freely among ancient monuments—offered Saito an alternative spiritual geography to Kyoto. The 1954 Ancient City print, edition 18 of 100, likely depicts the Nara basin from an elevated vantage point, or perhaps a view of the great temple compounds that survive from the Nara period. His treatment of Nara is typically cooler than his Kyoto work, the city's greater antiquity calling for a more austere palette.
More Prints by Saito Kiyoshi
More Urban Scenes Prints
A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru)
Woodblock print
View of Kabuki Theater from Matsuya (Ginza Matsuya yori Kabukiza), no. 3 from the series "Pictures of Ginza, First Series (Gashu Ginza dai isshu)"
1928
Color lithograph
Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"
1930
Color lithograph
Spring Dusk at the Tōshō Shrine in Ueno
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ancient City, Nara was created by Saito Kiyoshi (斎藤清) in 1954.
Ancient City, Nara depicts urban scenes, set at Nara.
Ancient City, Nara measures 45.5 × 60.3 cm.