$300–$3,000. Common folk art prints: $300–$800. Key value factors: Mori's cheerful folk art prints are affordably priced. His stencil technique (kappazuri) is distinctive.
Guardian Deity, printed in 1964 as a stencil, presents one of the fearsome protective deities that stood at the entrances of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines — either a Nio (Deva King), a Raijin (Thunder God), or a similar apotropaic figure. Mori's bold stencil technique was well suited to these subjects: the guardian's exaggerated musculature, fierce expression, and elaborate armor or divine attributes translated naturally into the flat, bold color areas of [kappazuri](/glossary/kappazuri) printing. The guardian figure had been a subject of Japanese religious art for over a thousand years, and Mori brought it into the mid-20th century [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) context with his distinctive folk-art sensibility.
伏見稲荷
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
Uji Byodoin no ichibu
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Guardian Deity was created by Yoshitoshi Mori (森義利) in 1964.
Guardian Deity uses Stencil Print, on stencil on paper.
Guardian Deity depicts temples & shrines and mythology.
