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.
A third version of Okazaki Shintaro's recurring subject of junks sailing the moonlit Seto Inland Sea. The existence of multiple treatments of this scene suggests it held particular significance for the artist, perhaps rooted in personal memory or a commitment to capturing every nuance of the subject. The Seto Inland Sea's relatively protected waters, scattered with hundreds of small islands, create constantly shifting compositions of land, water, and sky that reward repeated observation. In this variation, the arrangement of vessels, the angle of moonlight, or the atmospheric conditions likely differ from the other versions, offering a distinct emotional register while maintaining the same fundamental subject. The series-within-a-series approach echoes the great [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) tradition of depicting a single location under varying conditions of light and weather.
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.
