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 woman bends forward and steam (yuge) rises from the bath water before her, the warmth rendered through soft atmospheric gradations. The 1929 Steam print captures a moment of private bathing — the body surrounded by rising vapor, the skin warm and exposed. Kotondo treats this nude subject with the same restraint and attentiveness he brought to his clothed bijin-ga, the steam providing a natural veil that preserves the intimacy of the moment. This color woodblock version preserves his original design.
Mutsu Tsuta onsen
1919
Color woodblock print; oban
1943
Color woodblock print
Autumn 1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
1924
Color woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Steam (Yuge) was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in 1929.
Steam (Yuge) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1929).
Steam (Yuge) depicts nude, bijin-ga, and daily life.
Steam (Yuge) measures 47.3 × 30.7 cm (Oban format).
