Artwork

Sashu Tsukahara setchu|Nichiren in Snow at Tsukahara, Sodo Province

Sashu Tsukahara setchu|Nichiren in Snow at Tsukahara, Sodo Province is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

This woodblock print, created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi around 1840, depicts a nighttime winter scene. It is titled 'Sashu Tsukahara setchu' or 'Nichiren in Snow at Tsukahara, Sodo Province'.

Subject & Meaning

The print shows a figure in a red cloak ascending a snowy slope, set against a backdrop of a village and a starry night sky. The scene conveys a sense of solitude and struggle against the harsh winter environment.

Technique & Style

Kuniyoshi employed a bold color palette, including deep blues, whites, and red, to create visual contrast. The use of color and line work emphasizes the traveler's isolation and effort.

Artist & collection

Artist

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Kuniyoshi grew up in old Tokyo when the city was still called Edo. His dad ran a silk shop, but Kuniyoshi loved anything with pictures—scrolls, screens, comic books. He talked his way into the Utagawa school, a kind of…