Roben Waterfall at Mount Oyama (Oyama Roben no taki)

Date:: c. 1818/20
Medium:: Color woodblock prints; oban triptych
Format:: Oban
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Uncommon subject or exceptional impression: $2,000–$8,000
Good condition standard print: $500–$2,000
Later impression or common subject: $200–$600

Description

The Roben Waterfall at Mount Oyama was one of the most celebrated scenic destinations near Edo, a site of both Shinto and Buddhist worship where pilgrims made arduous climbs to witness the water cascading through the sacred gorge. This oban triptych from c. 1818-20 — one of Kuniyoshi's earlier landscape works — spans three sheets to capture the full height of the falls with worshippers visible on the rocky paths below. The triptych format's power to render vertical natural grandeur that single sheets cannot contain is fully realized here.

More Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Yan Qing (Roshi Ensei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"

Poem by Abe no Nakamaro, from an untitled series of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets

Hu Sanniang (Ko Sanjo Ichijosei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"

Miya, Kuwana, Yokkaichi, and Ishiyakushi, from the series "Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Four Stations (Tokaido gojusan eki yonshuku meisho)"

More Landscapes Prints

Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"

Wakasa Kugushiko

1920

Color woodblock print; oban

Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)

Woodblock print

The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"

1934

Color woodblock print; oban

Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)

n.d.

Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Mount Fuji in Japanese Woodblock Prints Meisho-e: Famous-Place Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Roben Waterfall at Mount Oyama (Oyama Roben no taki) was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) in c. 1818/20.

Roben Waterfall at Mount Oyama (Oyama Roben no taki) depicts landscapes, waterfalls, and rivers & lakes.