Coastal View
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
This woodblock print offers a panoramic view along a Japanese coastline, where land meets the Pacific in a sweep of color and atmosphere. Arai, better known for his bijin-ga and kuchi-e illustrations, here turns his attention to pure landscape. The coastal terrain is built up through overlapping planes of color — foreground rocks or vegetation giving way to the arc of a bay, then open water extending to the horizon. This type of meisho (famous place) imagery has deep roots in Japanese printmaking, from Hiroshige's coastal views onward, and Arai's version updates the tradition with the richer color registration and smoother gradients that became possible as printing technology advanced in the late Meiji period.
More Prints by Yoshimune Arai
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coastal View was created by Yoshimune Arai (荒井芳宗).
Coastal View depicts landscapes and seascapes.