Autumn
- Date:
- 1927
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 36 × 24.1 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
$1,000–$10,000. Common subjects: $1,000–$3,000. Key value factors: Yamakawa's limited output and early death at 46 make his prints relatively scarce. Quality bijin-ga command steady prices.
Autumn, created in 1927, associates a beautiful woman with the melancholy elegance of the fall season. The [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) tradition frequently linked female subjects to seasonal motifs, and autumn carried particular weight in Japanese aesthetics, evoking mono no aware, the bittersweet awareness of impermanence. Shuho channels this sensibility through both the figure's expression and the surrounding palette.
Printed in ink and color on paper in [oban](/glossary/oban) format, the work employs the warm rusts, golds, and deep greens associated with Japanese maples and chrysanthemums. The woman's kimono likely echoes these autumnal tones, following the cultural practice of wearing patterns and colors appropriate to the season. Shuho's rendering balances decorative richness in the textile details with restrained emotion in the face, achieving the quiet contemplative mood that distinguishes his best figure work from more commercially oriented [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) output.
Noka no aki (Miyagi ken Ayashi
1946
Color woodblock print
Woodblock print
1950
Color woodblock print
Autumn 1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Autumn was created by Yamakawa Shuho (山川秀峰) in 1927.
Autumn was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1927).
Autumn depicts autumn foliage.
Autumn measures 36 × 24.1 cm (Oban format).
