Lookout on cliff
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Description
A figure stands at a lookout point high on a cliff in this woodblock print, gazing outward across an expanse that drops away dramatically below. The composition exploits the vertical potential of the format, stacking the cliff face, the figure, and the distant view into a compressed spatial arrangement. Arai draws on a long tradition of elevated vantage points in Japanese landscape art, where high places served both as scenic overlooks and as metaphors for contemplation and perspective. The cliff edge creates a sharp boundary between solid ground and open air, a visual tension that the woodblock medium renders with characteristic clarity through defined edges between color blocks.
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
Lookout on cliff was created by Yoshimune Arai (荒井芳宗).
Lookout on cliff depicts landscapes, figures, and seascapes.