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Dōtonbori

Uehara Konen
  • $85.00

Add Custom Frame

SHIPPING FOR FRAMES ONLY AVAILABLE WITHIN U.S.

Add Custom Frame

SHIPPING FOR FRAMES ONLY AVAILABLE WITHIN U.S.

Add Custom Frame

SHIPPING FOR FRAMES ONLY AVAILABLE WITHIN U.S.

Add Custom Frame

SHIPPING FOR FRAMES ONLY AVAILABLE WITHIN U.S.

Created in 1928, Dōtonbori is an enchanting view into a rare, quiet moment in the normally bustling tourist section of Osaka. Through a delicate silhouette of a cascading willow tree, we’re transported to the banks of the Dōtonbori canal. With washes of deep indigo and emphasis on shadowed forms, Dōtonbori exemplifies the mōrō-tai style, a modernist approach to woodblock prints made popular during the Meiji period of Japan. Hazy, diffuse forms—influenced by popular Western artistic styles at the time—were favored over the delicate line drawings of earlier, Edo ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Similar to Konen’s Hatō zu waves, Dōtonbori captures a moment frozen in time with impressionistic dynamicism. 

The loosely curved ripples in the water reflect the dim lantern lighting from the barge and town windows, an effect reminiscent of another popular Meiji style, kōsenga—an approach pioneered by Kobayashi Kiyochika. Similar to Kiyochika’s Fireworks at Ikenohata, light is the protagonist in Konen’s nocturnal scene. From the dramatic backlighting of the tree branches to the refracted light revealing quiet canal movement, and even the subtle glow of the top of the barge illuminated by the moon—each element in Dōtonbori is produced by light. Read more on the blog!

+ Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
+ Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper unless noted
+ Handcrafted custom-framing is available

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

Museo Portfolio Rag

Edition Structure:
10"x8" | edition of 10
14"x11" | edition of 150
20"x16" | edition of 50
24"x20" | edition of 25

Artist - Uehara Konen

Uehara Konen

Uehara Konen was born in 1878 in Asakusa, Tokyo, just as Japan was transforming from an isolated feudal society to the modern, Westernized Japan that we know today. The Meiji Era, as this period is known, ultimately caused a steady disappearance of the woodblock print. Konen continued to create woodblocks despite the rapid changes around him, albeit in the mōrō-tai (modernist style) popular from 1899 to 1909. Part of the “Sumida River School” (Blue River School), Konen was inspired by Western styles of painting, and you can see the influence in the colors, photographic perspective, and experimental nature of his work.

In 1907, Konen became the secretary of the Kokuga Gyokuseikai (National Painting Cultivation Society), which supported a modern school of painting in Japan. Konen also served in the Imperial Household, the Foreign Ministry, and as a juror for the Tokyo Metropolitan. He died on May 24th, 1940 in Tokyo.

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