Gekko Ogata – Auspicious Dreams

Original woodblock print. The first edition of this design was published in 1896. The current print was printed in the Meiji period (1868 – 1912).

This print is part of Ogata Gekko’s series “One Hundred Fujis”. Mount Fuji stands tall in the background, extending beyond the image’s outlines into the margin, an element already used by Hiroshige to enhance the impressiveness of Mount Fuji. In front of it, the branch of a pine tree is visible, along with a hawk.

A hanging scroll painting with a similar composition and theme is also known. In that work, the hawk holds an aubergine. The hawk, Mount Fuji, and aubergine are symbols considered to spell good fortune for one who encounters them in the first dream of the new year, with the pine tree also representing good fortune in general. As such, one might think that the aubergine should be present in the current print as well, and it seems to be, somewhat hidden, in the cartouche.

Image size (excluding margins): 32.3 * 21.6 cm (12.7 * 8.5 in).

The print is in good state, but with signs of aging.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Gekko Ogata (1859 – 1920) was a self-taught Japanese painter and woodblock artist. He was a prolific artist with a strong work ethic and produced many paintings, woodblock prints, and illustrations for various media. In later years, attention to his works was less than for artists such as Tsukioka Yoshitoshi or Yoshu Chikanobu, but in recent years there has been renewed interest. For an in-depth overview of his life and work, there is an excellent resource in Amy Reigle Newland’s “Printed and Painted. The Meiji Art of Ogata Gekko (1859-1920)”.

His works feature traditional ukiyo-e themes, such as flowers and beautiful women. These prints are typically relatively affordable. Another, more expensive genre, is that of Japanese legends, heroes, and history. For both these genres, we have many woodblock prints on offer, and we hope to add more in the future of his landscape prints and those of other genres.

See an overview of Gekko Ogata's woodblock prints