$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.
Muroto Peninsula, Tosa shows the rugged southeastern tip of Shikoku island, where Cape Muroto juts dramatically into the Pacific Ocean. This remote headland, battered by typhoons and powerful currents, is one of the wildest coastal landscapes in Japan. The area holds deep significance as a sacred site on the Shikoku Pilgrimage route, where the young monk Kukai is said to have achieved enlightenment in a seaside cave.
Shuho's oban woodblock print captures the raw power of this exposed coastline, where volcanic rock formations meet the open Pacific with no sheltering islands or bays to soften the impact. The Tosa designation refers to the old provincial name for what is now Kochi Prefecture. The print's landscape subject again shows Shuho's range beyond bijin-ga, and the Muroto coast's stark, elemental quality demanded a bolder treatment than the gentle atmospheric effects typical of inland or sheltered coastal scenes.
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.
Muroto Peninsula, Tosa — 土佐室戸岬 was created by Yamakawa Shuho (山川秀峰).
Muroto Peninsula, Tosa — 土佐室戸岬 was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Muroto Peninsula, Tosa — 土佐室戸岬 depicts landscapes, religious, and seascapes.
