Kotondo is best known for bijin-ga, but his complete oeuvre includes actor prints and other figure subjects. His small corpus of only 21 designs ensures that all authenticated period impressions carry collector interest and scarcity premiums.
A young woman stands outdoors in winter, wrapped against the chill of a February sky. Kotondo captures the particular grey luminosity of a cold Japanese afternoon through delicate gradations of blue and grey bokashi, the pale light softening the contours of her face. The composition distills winter into a single unhurried moment — a woman alone with the quiet sky.
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
February - Wintry Sky was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in 1924.
February - Wintry Sky was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1924).
February - Wintry Sky depicts snow scenes, bijin-ga, and winter.
