Katsuyuki Nishijima - 大原の里 (Ohara Village)

A fabulous print by Katsuyuki Nishijima: 大原の里 (Ohara Village). This woodblock shows Ohara under deep snowfall, with a snow-covered field leading back to thatched farmhouses and a dense line of winter trees. In the foreground, flowering camellias and stones emerge from the snow, adding a small but striking point of colour against the otherwise muted scene. The handling of the snow is especially effective here, giving the surface a light-catching, almost shimmering quality in person. ❄️🌺

• Year & Edition: 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: 大原 (Ohara) is a rural area in the mountains north of Kyoto, long known for its traditional farmhouses, fields, and quiet village landscape. Nishijima presents it here in winter, reducing the scene to snow-covered ground, distant buildings, and a small cluster of camellias in the foreground. A particularly strong example of his snow scenes, and one that shows the care of his printing especially well.

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]