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.
Lake and Bamboo returns to two of Tekiho's favored motifs, combining a body of still water with the vertical accents of bamboo groves along its shore. The lake's horizontal expanse provides a calm, reflective surface that contrasts with the bamboo's upright energy, creating a composition built on the tension between horizontal and vertical elements. In Japanese aesthetics, lakes and ponds represent stillness, depth, and the mirror-like quality of contemplative awareness, while bamboo embodies resilience, growth, and the flexibility that bends without breaking. Tekiho renders this combination in woodblock, using the medium's ability to produce both the smooth, unbroken tones of a water surface and the sharp, rhythmic lines of bamboo stalks. The result is a landscape that balances movement and repose.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Lake and Bamboo was created by Imoto Tekiho (井元荻浦).
Lake and Bamboo depicts landscapes, rivers & lakes, and trees.
