Cormorant — Unotori
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
$1,000–$15,000. Common landscapes: $1,000–$3,000. Key value factors: Kasamatsu's early shin-hanga works (pre-1955) tend to be more valued than his later sosaku-hanga production.
A cormorant — known in Japanese as unotori — stands with striking poise, its dark plumage offset by the pale ground of the composition. Kasamatsu studied birds with a naturalist's eye, observing the characteristic postures and surface textures that distinguish species without resorting to scientific dryness. The cormorant's compressed neck, hook-tipped bill, and spread wings for drying were well-known to Japanese audiences as the instruments of traditional cormorant fishing, lending the image historical as well as natural resonance.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Cormorant — Unotori was created by Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪).
Cormorant — Unotori was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Cormorant — Unotori depicts birds & flowers.
