Ito Yuhan – Itsukushima Shrine at Miyajima

Original woodblock print. The first edition of this design was published circa 1935. The current print was printed in the Showa period (1926 – 1989).

This woodblock print by Ito Yuhan depicts Itsukushima Shrine at Miyajima. This is a Shinto shrine on Miyajima, otherwise known as Itsukushima Island. The shrine comprises many buildings, and two are visible in the foreground of Ito Yuhan’s print. Further, in the background, the famous floating torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine is visible. Such a gate marks the transition from the everyday world to the sacred world, and torii gates are found at Shinto shrines throughout Japan. The Torii at Itsukushima is unusual as it stands in the water, the rationale being that visitors were most commonly expected to arrive by sea.

The Torii gate on Miyajima has been depicted more often by woodblock artists, for example by Tsuchiya Koitsu with Rainy Miyajima, Summer Moon at Miyajima or Kawase Hasui with Snow at Miyajima. It provides a nice point of comparison for the woodblock prints by Ito Yuhan. In his design, Ito Yuhan shows the Torii at high tide, at night, with mist, and the full moon shining through. Perhaps these were circumstances where Ito Yuhan’s style was at its most advantageous. The night, reflections in the water and the mist all serve to soften and dilute the light of the moon. Ito Yuhan’s pastel-like colors, the use of many gradients and bokashi shading and the absence of sharp keyblock lines all serve much the same purpose, leading to a soft and diluted, water color-like artwork, perfectly suited to capture these circumstances.

Similar techniques are used by Ito Yuhan in all of his woodblock prints, but like in the current scene they have their full effect in Boats in the Sunset Glow, Ukimido at Lake Biwa and Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto.

Image size (excluding margins): 37.1 * 24.6 cm (14.6 * 9.7 in).

The print is in excellent condition.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Ito Yuhan (1882-1951) was a Shin hanga artist who designed a series of woodblock prints in the 1930s for publisher Nishinomiya Yosaku. These prints are in unmistakable Shin hanga style and depict landscapes and famous Japanese places. That notwithstanding, within the Shin hanga movement, Ito Yuhan is an absolutely unique artist with an unforgettable style. This is best exemplified in his prints where the key-block was omitted during printing, even if it was used during the creation process of the woodblocks. As a result, the sharp black outlines that are present in other Shin hanga designs are missing, and combined with printing in soft tones and with many color gradients, the result is almost like watercolor paintings.

Discover more information and see an overview of Ito Yuhan’s woodblock prints.

See an overview of Ito Yuhan's woodblock prints