Eisen Keisai, View of Lake Suwa from Shiojiri Pass, Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido
Artist: Eisen Keisai (1790–1848)
Title: View of Lake Suwa from Shiojiri Pass
Series title: Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido
Publisher: Takenouchi Magohei
Date: c.1835-1838
Size: 35.6 x 24.8 cm
Original Japanese woodblock print.
Unique to Eisen's oeuvre and often overlooked for his beauty prints, landscapes comprise of some of the artists most visually striking and original works. In this print, Eisen focuses on capturing the overall temporal mood, with the distant Mount Fuji standing out against the sky captured by the use of bokashi gradation. Kisokaido was one of the five travel routes developed during the Edo period that linked the shogun's city to the rest of Japan. It was an alternate route to the Tokaido and travelled through the central part of Honshu, thus giving rise to its name, which means 'Central Mountain Road'.
Lake Suwa's water surface freezes in the winter, with local Shinto tradition saying that the ridges are formed by the gods crossing the lake. Eisen captures this natural phenomenon and shows travellers across the frozen water, bridging the gap between the sacred and the earthly.
Eisen Keisai
Keisai Eisen was an artist, who alongside his contemporary Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), was renowned for his beauty prints, depicting courtesans and geisha in everyday life, sometimes touching on the erotic in nature. Despite his devotion to the genre he also produced noteworthy landscape prints such as the ‘Eight Views of Edo’ (‘Edo Hakkei’) series, occasionally collaborating with Hiroshige I. Eisen is also known for his development of aizuri-e, which is a term that describes ukiyo-e that is printed only in shades of blue. This technique was popular in the 1830s and 1840s and has been employed by various artists, including Hokusai. He began an apprenticeship in art early on in life, studying with the Kano painter Hakkeisai. He later was looked after by Kikugawa Eiji and became known as a pupil of Eiji’s son, Kikugawa Eizan, who was his contemporary, through curious circumstances. The feudal lord of the Hishu province wanted to own all prints produced by Kikugawa Eizan’s students and received a collection of them, in which Keisai Eisen’s prints were included. Thereafter, Eisen was then considered to be Eizan’s student, too.
| Print Format | Oban (Horizontal) |
|---|---|
| Artist | Eisen Keisai |
| Subject | Landscapes |
| Dimensions | 35.6 x 24.8 cm |
| Condition Report | Centrefold, stains due to old glue, wear and soiling, holes and tears restored, slightly trimmed. |
| Folders | In Store, EH |
