A Ferry Boat- large size
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Key value factors: Edition order (first Watanabe/Doi printing vs. posthumous reprints) is crucial. Snow scenes, night views, and bijin-ga typically command premiums. Publisher seals and artist signatures authenticate first editions.
This large-format woodblock print presents a ferry boat navigating Japanese waters, rendered in the spacious compositional style that Arai adopted for his non-figurative work. Unlike his more celebrated bijin-ga and kuchi-e designs, landscape and maritime subjects allowed Arai to explore broader spatial relationships and atmospheric depth. The ferry, a ubiquitous feature of Meiji-era transportation before modern bridges, sits low on the water as passengers cross between shores. Arai builds the scene through layered color blocks, with water rendered in graduated tones that convey movement and reflective light. The enlarged format gives the composition room to breathe, distinguishing it from the tighter framing typical of magazine frontispiece work.
Woodblock print
Hansen, yoru
1926
Color woodblock print
1915
Color woodblock print
Hansen, asa
1926
Color woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
A Ferry Boat- large size was created by Yoshimune Arai (荒井芳宗).
A Ferry Boat- large size depicts boats & ships and seascapes.
