Fumio Kitaoka - 車の町(トヨタ) Car Town (Toyota)

Name: Fumio Kitaoka - 車の町(トヨタ) Car Town (Toyota)
Brand: Kumo Arts
Price: 240.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

£240.00

Modern | Sōsaku Hanga Woodblock Print

Fumio Kitaoka’s 1985 woodblock print “車の町 (トヨタ) Car Town (Toyota)” immerses you in a vibrant Toyota City streetscape: giraffe sculptures stand outside a Toyota Vista showroom, MR2 promotional banners flutter alongside Yellow Hat signage, and a local bus ambles past. A playful snapshot of Japan’s automotive heartland. 🚗🦒🏙️

Year & Edition: 1985 · Ed. of 200 (67/200) (titled, editioned & signed in pencil).
Medium: Woodblock.
Dimensions: Sheet approx. W: 47.00 cm × H: 37.50 cm; Image W: 41.00 cm × H: 31.00 cm.
Condition: Good; clean image free of blemishes; general overall browning to paper and outer margins; no signs of prior mounting or framing.
Notes: Captures 豊田市 (Toyota City), renamed in 1959 after Toyota Motor Corporation (formerly Koromo City). The print celebrates the city’s automotive legacy - complete with Toyota MR2 branding - against a backdrop of colourful dealer signs and roadside attractions.

About the Artist

Fumio Kitaoka (1918-2007) was a leading figure in Japan’s sōsaku-hanga movement and a student of both Unichi Hiratsuka and Koshiro Onchi. Known for his quietly powerful landscapes, Kitaoka explored seasonal change, shifting light, and the passage of time. He exhibited and taught internationally from the 1950s onward, and his work is held in major collections including MoMA, Harvard Art Museums, and the Yokohama Museum of Art. [ ← View All Works by Fumio Kitaoka]