Snow and night scenes traditionally command higher prices. Key value factors: As self-carved and self-printed works, sosaku-hanga value is tied to the artist's reputation and edition size. Larger formats, earlier editions, and historically significant works command the highest prices.
This woodblock print by Okazaki Shintaro depicts junks returning across the Seto Inland Sea under moonlight. The Seto Inland Sea, stretching between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, has been one of Japan's most vital maritime corridors for centuries, and the sight of traditional sailing vessels navigating its island-dotted waters was a common scene well into the twentieth century. Okazaki renders the returning boats as dark silhouettes against moon-silvered water, their distinctive rectangular sails catching what light remains. The night setting allows for strong tonal contrasts, with the moonlit sea providing a luminous backdrop for the shadowed hulls. The composition evokes the rhythm of daily maritime labor, fishermen and traders heading home as the day's work ends and moonlight replaces the setting sun over calm inland waters.
1940
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Boshu Taikai
1925
Color woodblock print; oban
September 1931
Color woodblock print; oban
No Series Returning Junks Seto Inland Sea In Moonlight was created by Okazaki Shintaro (岡崎紳太郎).
No Series Returning Junks Seto Inland Sea In Moonlight depicts seascapes, moonlight, and night scenes, set at Seto Inland Sea.
