Children with Lanterns
提灯を持つ子供
- Date:
- c. 1906
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
Typical Price
Children carrying paper lanterns during a festival creates a warm, glowing scene that is among the most popular in the Kodomo Asobi series. The lighting effect of illuminated lanterns against evening darkness adds atmospheric depth unusual in children's subjects. Pre-earthquake editions command $1,800-$3,500, reflecting this design's particular desirability among Shoun collectors.
Description
Children with Lanterns (Chouchin wo motsu kodomo), from around 1906, depicts young figures carrying paper lanterns, likely during a summer festival or evening outing. The lanterns serve as portable light sources whose warm glow illuminates the children's faces from below, creating the dramatic lighting that makes nighttime lantern scenes so appealing to printmakers. Shoun's color woodblock captures the contrast between the lanterns' golden radiance and the surrounding darkness, the children's faces bright islands in the evening air. The scene evokes the excitement of being outdoors after dark, a special occasion for children whose usual world is bounded by daylight.
