This quiet scene of a house near Mount Ontake showcases Kasamatsu's ability to find beauty in humble domestic settings. Watanabe lifetime editions sell for $800-$2,000. The rural mountain location and intimate scale give this print a peaceful quality that appeals to collectors seeking alternatives to the more dramatic temple and night scenes.
A traditional farmhouse at Ontake — in the mountainous Kiso district associated with the sacred volcano — appears in the architectural documentation of rural Japan that ran as a current through Kasamatsu's landscape work. The Ontake region's isolation preserved vernacular building traditions longer than more accessible areas, and the farmhouses Kasamatsu recorded there — heavy thatched or bark-shingled roofs, earthen walls, open hearths — represented a way of building inseparable from landscape and climate.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
House at Ontake was created by Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪).
House at Ontake uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
House at Ontake was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
House at Ontake depicts architecture, mountains, and village scenes.
