Asa (Dawn)
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- British Museum
Typical Price
$500–$4,000. Common prints: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Ono's socially conscious prints and urban scenes are valued for both artistic quality and historical interest.
Description
The Japanese word "asa" (朝) carries the weight of early-morning stillness — that blue-grey hour before the world has committed to daylight. Ono gives this liminal moment a graphic rather than atmospheric treatment, relying on tonal contrast and simplified shapes rather than soft bokashi gradation. The print exemplifies the sosaku-hanga conviction that emotional resonance could be achieved through formal rigor, not pictorial sentiment.
More Prints by Tadashige Ono
![TItle unknown [bridge and houses in front of yellow sky] by Tadashige Ono](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/132624.jpg)
More Urban Scenes Prints
A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru)
Woodblock print
View of Kabuki Theater from Matsuya (Ginza Matsuya yori Kabukiza), no. 3 from the series "Pictures of Ginza, First Series (Gashu Ginza dai isshu)"
1928
Color lithograph
Distant View of Mitsukoshi Movie Theater in Shinjuku from the Sixth Floor of Hoteiya (Hoteiya rokkai kara Shinjuku Mitsukoshi Musashi no kan enbo zu), no. 1 from the series "Scenery of Shinjuku (Gashu Shinjuku fukei)"
1930
Color lithograph
Spring Dusk at the Tōshō Shrine in Ueno
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Asa (Dawn) was created by Tadashige Ono (小野忠重).
Asa (Dawn) depicts urban scenes, landscapes, and night scenes.