OKUYAMA Gihachirō - "镰仓大佛" - 日本木版画 - 浮世绘 - 日本 - 20世纪

OKUYAMA Gihachirō (奥山 儀八郎)
Kamakura no Daibutsu (鎌倉の大佛) – Kamakura 大佛

Technique: Woodblock print (mokuhanga) – Shin Hanga
Date: c. 1950
Publisher: Kyoto Hanga-in (京都版画院), Shinagawa Kaede (品川楓)
Format: Ōban tate-e (大判竪絵) – 41.0 × 29.5 cm (16.1 × 11.6 inches)
Signature: Signed "Gihachiro" (儀八郎) in the lower left area of the image; publisher's mark in the lower left margin

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Impression & Colors: Very good impression with excellent to very good colours. The deep indigo and violet tones of the twilight sky are rich and beautifully graduated.

Paper: Excellent condition. Some light toning and minor wear to the margins. The thick washi paper is intact with no significant losses, tears, or restoration.

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The Great Buddha at Twilight

This atmospheric composition presents Japan's most iconic Buddhist monument — the Great Buddha (Daibutsu) of Kōtoku-in temple in Kamakura — bathed in the ethereal light of dusk. The monumental bronze Amida Buddha, cast in 1252 and standing over thirteen metres tall, sits in serene meditation as the sky behind transitions from warm golden clouds to deep indigo night. Okuyama captures the statue with striking sensitivity: the soft verdigris patina of centuries-old bronze, the gentle folds of the monastic robe, and the contemplative expression of the face are all rendered through masterful colour gradation and precise carving.

The composition draws the viewer upward along a pathway of stone steps, past small human figures who provide a vivid sense of the statue's immense scale. At left, a multi-tiered stone pagoda and lush foliage frame the scene, while at right a delicate cherry tree in full bloom adds a note of ephemeral beauty — a poignant contrast to the Buddha's eternal repose. The deep nocturnal palette, punctuated by small spots of vivid colour in the visitors' clothing, creates a mood of profound stillness and reverence. The embossed (karazuri) clouds are a particularly fine touch, adding subtle dimensionality to the darkening sky.
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Okuyama Gihachirō: Bridging Two Print Traditions

OKUYAMA Gihachirō (1907–1981) was one of the most versatile and prolific Japanese printmakers of the twentieth century, creating over one thousand designs across his career. Born in Sagae, Yamagata Prefecture, he trained under Kosaka Gajin and Ishii Kendo, acquiring deep expertise in both modern creative printmaking and the classical traditions of ukiyo-e. Uniquely among his contemporaries, Okuyama moved fluidly between the shin-hanga and sōsaku-hanga movements — producing evocative, richly coloured landscape prints in the collaborative shin-hanga tradition alongside more experimental, personally carved works in the sōsaku-hanga spirit.

This print was published by the Kyoto Hanga-in (Kyoto Print Institute), one of the distinguished shin-hanga publishers of the postwar period. The print exemplifies the finest qualities of the shin-hanga tradition: the harmonious collaboration between artist-designer, skilled block carver, and master printer produces results of extraordinary refinement — from the seamless bokashi gradations of the twilight sky to the subtle embossing of the clouds. Okuyama's background in commercial design lends his compositions a striking graphic clarity, while his deep study of traditional printmaking technique ensures the atmospheric subtlety and emotional depth that characterise the best shin-hanga landscape prints.