This is among Kotondo's most celebrated compositions. Kotondo created only 21 bijin-ga designs (1927–1933), and the original woodblocks were destroyed before WWII, making any original period impression extraordinarily rare. "Kamisuki (Hair Combing)" set the artist record at $72,500 at Christie's New York in 2019.
A woman stands in the blue-grey atmosphere of a winter evening, snowflakes around her or snow on the ground, the particular quality of fading winter light suffusing the composition. Kotondo's 1931 treatment of the snowy evening subject is among his late bijin-ga compositions, the cold light rendered through characteristic bokashi gradations. The figure's stillness within the winter scene gives the image its characteristic meditative quality — a woman who inhabits the season's mood rather than merely enduring it.
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.
Snowy Evening — 雪の夕 was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in 1931.
Snowy Evening — 雪の夕 uses Bokashi, on woodblock print.
Snowy Evening — 雪の夕 was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1931).
Snowy Evening — 雪の夕 depicts snow scenes and night scenes.
