Red Sun
- Date:
- 1934
- Medium:
- Hand-colored woodblock print
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
A blazing red sun dominates this 1934 hand-colored woodblock print, its crimson disc radiating heat and symbolic weight. Fujimaki Yoshio's choice of subject inevitably evokes the hinomaru, Japan's rising sun emblem, though the print's visual power transcends any single reading. The hand-coloring technique—pigment applied directly to each impression after printing—gives the red a saturated intensity that standard woodblock color passes might not achieve, and ensures that each copy carries slightly different qualities of hue and brushwork. Created during a period of rising nationalism in 1930s Japan, the image sits at an intersection of natural observation, national symbolism, and pure color experimentation.
More Prints by Fujimaki Yoshio
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
Red Sun was created by Fujimaki Yoshio (藤牧義夫) in 1934.
Red Sun depicts landscapes and abstract.