Fragrance of the Hot Spring — 湯の香
- Date:
- 1930
- Medium:
- Drawing
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
A nude or partially nude woman is suffused in the fragrant steam of a hot spring bath, the warmth rendered through soft gradations of warm color rising from below. The title Yu no Ka — "fragrance of the hot spring" — emphasizes the sensory fullness of the experience: not merely the sight of steam but its mineral scent, its enveloping warmth. This drawing represents Kotondo's rare explorations of the female nude, subjects he approached with the same quiet reverence he brought to his clothed bijin-ga.
More Prints by Torii Kotondo
More Nude Prints
Tsuta Hot Springs in Mutsu Province (Mutsu Tsuta onsen), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Mutsu Tsuta onsen
1919
Color woodblock print; oban
Namari Spa, Iwate Prefecture (Iwate ken Namari onsen)
1943
Color woodblock print
Autumn at the Arayu Hot Spring, Shiobara
Autumn 1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Arifuku Spa, Iwami, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series" (Tabi miyage dai sanshu, Iwami Arifuku onsen)
1924
Color woodblock print
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fragrance of the Hot Spring — 湯の香 was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in 1930.
Fragrance of the Hot Spring — 湯の香 uses Bokashi, on drawing.
Fragrance of the Hot Spring — 湯の香 was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1930).
Fragrance of the Hot Spring — 湯の香 depicts nude.