$500–$4,000. Snow and night scenes tend to command premium prices for this artist. Key value factors: As an early sosaku-hanga pioneer, Kawakami's prints have historical significance. His distinctive graphic style is collected.
"Ginza at Night, from the series Recollections of Tokyo," 1945, captures one of Japan's most famous commercial streets in its prewar incarnation — the elegant Ginza district with its Western-style shops, cafes, and bright electric lights creating the illusion of perpetual urban festivity. Printed in the final year of World War II, "Recollections of Tokyo" carries the melancholy of remembrance: the Ginza of the prints was already endangered by bombing, and the series served as both documentation and elegy. Kawakami's simplified, storybook style gives the nocturnal Ginza a warmth and intimacy.
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Ginza at Night, from the series Recollections of Tokyo was created by Sumio Kawakami (川上澄生) in 1945.
Yes — Ginza at Night, from the series Recollections of Tokyo is part of the Recollections of Tokyo series by Sumio Kawakami.
Ginza at Night, from the series Recollections of Tokyo depicts urban scenes and night scenes, set at Tokyo, Ginza.
