by Uemura Shoen
$5,000–$200,000+. Beauty prints by this artist are particularly sought after. Original prints: $20,000–$60,000. Key value factors: Shoen's paintings are far more valuable than prints. Authenticity and provenance are critical.
Created in 1922 during the Taisho period, this print illustrates the Yuki Onna (Snow Woman) from the play "Yuki Onna Gomai Hagoita," published in the comprehensive collection of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's dramatic works. The Yuki Onna is a supernatural figure from Japanese folklore: a beautiful, pale woman who appears during snowstorms and is associated with death by freezing. Shoen's rendering uses ink, color, and gold on paper to give the spectral figure an otherworldly luminosity, with the gold heightening the sense of supernatural radiance against the cold white of the snow. Chikamatsu, often called Japan's Shakespeare, wrote the dramatic adaptation that brought this folk figure to the puppet and kabuki stage. Shoen's illustration captures the character's dual nature as both beautiful and deadly, her serene expression concealing the lethal cold she embodies.
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
The Snow Woman (Yuki Onna) in the play Yuki Onna Gomai Hagoita, from the book Dai Chikamatsu Zenshū was created by Uemura Shoen (上村松園) in 1922 (Taishō 11).
The Snow Woman (Yuki Onna) in the play Yuki Onna Gomai Hagoita, from the book Dai Chikamatsu Zenshū depicts snow scenes.
The Snow Woman (Yuki Onna) in the play Yuki Onna Gomai Hagoita, from the book Dai Chikamatsu Zenshū measures 38.3 × 26.4 cm (Oban format).
