Hanga
A Nap (Utatane) by Torii Kotondo — Japanese Woodblock print, 1930

A Nap (Utatane)

by Torii Kotondo

Shin-hanga
FiguresBijin-ga
Date:
1930
Medium:
Woodblock print
Format:
Oban
Edition:
Published by Watanabe Shozaburo

Description

A woman reclines in a light sleep, her body relaxed into the soft fabric beneath her. Kotondo chooses the Japanese word utatane — the particular drowsiness of an unplanned nap, distinct from deep sleep — to title the work, and the figure embodies exactly this liminal state: not quite asleep, not quite awake. The composition is spare, the focus entirely on the softness of the resting form and the quiet stillness that surrounds her.

More Prints by Torii Kotondo

Yuki (Snow) by Torii Kotondo

Yuki (Snow)

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Japanese Color Woodblock Print on handmade paper

Undergarment (Variant State) by Torii Kotondo

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Snow (Yuki) by Torii Kotondo

Snow (Yuki)

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Sash- Obi- V1 by Torii Kotondo

Sash- Obi- V1

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More Figures Prints

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Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965? by Hideo Hagiwara

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Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962 by Kihei Sasajima

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Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Shin-Hanga: Japan's Twentieth-Century Print RevivalBijin-ga: Japanese Beauty Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

A Nap (Utatane) was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in 1930.

A Nap (Utatane) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1930).

A Nap (Utatane) depicts figures and bijin-ga.