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.
Cataloged under the artist's own name, this woodblock print by Terashima Shimei is one of several works whose specific subject has not been recorded with a descriptive title in available databases. Given Terashima's consistent focus on [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga), or portraits of beautiful women, the print very likely depicts a female figure in traditional or modern dress. Terashima worked within the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) system where publishers coordinated the production of prints, and the absence of a descriptive title may reflect incomplete records rather than an intentionally unnamed work. The woodblock medium and the artist's known output suggest a composition featuring the delicate skin tones, intricate textile patterns, and careful compositional balance that characterize his beauty portraits. The print contributes to the overall picture of an artist devoted to a single genre within the broader landscape of 20th-century Japanese printmaking.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Terashima Shimei was created by Terashima Shimei (寺島紫明).
Terashima Shimei depicts figures and bijin-ga.
