Katsuyuki Nishijima - 嵯峨の町屋 (Machiya in Saga, Kyoto)

A fabulous print by Katsuyuki Nishijima: 嵯峨の町屋 (Machiya in Saga, Kyoto). This woodblock shows a traditional 町屋 (machiya) in Saga, Kyoto, with its long wooden frontage, deep thatched roof, and line of colourful wagasa parasols set out along the stone-paved street. The dark roof tiles, weathered timber, and soft mountain backdrop place the house firmly within the historic character of 嵯峨 (Saga), an area of western Kyoto long known for its preserved townscape and older domestic architecture. 🏠☂️

• Year & Edition: 2004. Edition of 500. Signed & titled in pencil.
• Medium: Woodblock.
• Dimensions: Sheet W: 43.50 cm × H: 31.50 cm. Image W: 37.75 cm × H: 25.75 cm.
• Condition: Studio-fresh.
• Notes: Saga, in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district, is known for its traditional streets, rural edge, and historic buildings, including machiya townhouses and older thatched structures. Nishijima returns here to the familiar materials of wooden latticework, kawara rooflines, and street-facing architecture, with the row of 和傘 (wagasa, traditional paper parasols) adding a distinctly Kyoto note.

About the Artist

Katsuyuki Nishijima (b. 1945, Yamaguchi) has spent over fifty years capturing a distilled vision of traditional Japan through woodblock printmaking. Drawing on ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku hanga, his prints depict peaceful street scenes, machiya, and Kyoto townscapes that quietly evoke the spirit of historical Japan. A former apprentice at Kyoto’s Mikumo publishing house, Nishijima brings a deep attentiveness to the cultural memory embedded in architecture and landscape. [ ← View All Works by Katsuyuki Nishijima]