$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.
Kegon Waterfalls, Nikko captures one of Japan's three most famous waterfalls, where the waters of Lake Chuzenji plunge nearly one hundred meters into a rocky gorge surrounded by dense forest. Located within the Nikko National Park in Tochigi Prefecture, Kegon Falls has been a celebrated scenic attraction since the area's development as a religious center around the Toshogu shrine complex.
Shuho's oban woodblock print confronts the technical challenge of rendering falling water in a medium that builds images through flat color areas and carved lines. The long vertical drop of Kegon Falls creates a compositional spine, with the surrounding cliffs and vegetation framing the white column of water. The gorge below, where the falls hit the rocks and dissolve into mist, provides an area of tonal complexity. This landscape subject connects Shuho to the broader shin-hanga tradition of meisho prints, though his primary reputation remained in figure subjects.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Kegon Waterfalls, Nikko — 華源滝 was created by Yamakawa Shuho (山川秀峰).
Kegon Waterfalls, Nikko — 華源滝 was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Kegon Waterfalls, Nikko — 華源滝 depicts landscapes and waterfalls, set at Nikko.
