Kurashiki, Okayama (B)
- Date:
- 1965
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Dimensions:
- 59.7 × 45.7 cm
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
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
Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture—a beautifully preserved merchant district of white-walled storehouses (kura) along a willow-lined canal—offered Saito an architectural environment distinct from temples and farmhouses. The white plaster walls with their black tile capping strips created a bold graphic contrast he could exploit in woodblock: geometric white volumes, hard black lines, the canal a dark horizontal mirror below. The (B) variant from 1965 likely shows a specific stretch of the canal district.
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
Kurashiki, Okayama (B) was created by Saito Kiyoshi (斎藤清) in 1965.
Kurashiki, Okayama (B) depicts urban scenes, rivers & lakes, and architecture.
Kurashiki, Okayama (B) measures 59.7 × 45.7 cm.