Sai Jinhua from China
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
$2,000–$15,000. Common subjects: $2,000–$5,000. Key value factors: Yamamura's Art Deco-influenced designs are particularly sought after. Kabuki actor prints and bold modern compositions command the highest prices.
This [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print depicts Sai Jinhua, the famous Chinese courtesan and political figure whose life story captivated audiences across East Asia in the early twentieth century. Born in 1872, Sai Jinhua rose from a Suzhou pleasure house to accompany a Chinese diplomat to Europe, later becoming entangled in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 when she reportedly used her relationship with a German commander to protect Beijing residents. Her story was dramatized in Chinese opera, Japanese kabuki, and modern theater. Toyonari's portrait connects to his broader interest in cross-cultural subjects, joining his Shanghai dancing scene as evidence of an artist engaged with the wider East Asian world. The woodblock medium renders this legendary woman with the same formal precision Toyonari applied to kabuki actors, treating her as another kind of performer on the stage of history.
1919
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Woodblock print
1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with nikawa and embossing
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Sai Jinhua from China was created by Yamamura Toyonari (山村豊成).
Sai Jinhua from China was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Sai Jinhua from China depicts bijin-ga and portraits.
