Asuka
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Typical Price
- Exceptional or early edition Saito print in fine condition: $3,000–$15,000
- Good condition mid-career print: $500–$2,000
- Standard edition: $200–$600
Description
Asuka—the ancient heartland of Japanese civilization in Nara Prefecture, where the imperial court resided in the sixth and seventh centuries before the move to Nara—was one of Saito's recurring subjects for its combination of deep historical resonance and humble agricultural landscape. Ancient burial mounds, stone carvings, and rice paddies coexist in Asuka with a directness impossible in the more cultivated Kyoto aesthetic. Saito responded to this rawness with typically uncompromising geometric reduction.
More Prints by Saito Kiyoshi
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Asuka was created by Saito Kiyoshi (斎藤清).
Asuka depicts landscapes, temples & shrines, and village scenes.