Junichi Mibugawa – Silence (Mibugawa Junichi – Seijaku)

Original woodblock print, hand-signed and numbered 24/200 by the artist. First published in 2023.

After creating a city scene with ‘Street in Front of Kyoto Station’, Junichi Mibugawa has opted again for his more common themes of temples and woods. Perhaps a coincidence, but the title amplifies the contrast with ‘Silence’ and indeed, it is a serene scene where one can feel the silence of the place.

Image size (excluding margins): 18.5 * 26.0 cm (7.3 * 10.2 in).

The print is in excellent condition.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Junichi Mibugawa (b. 1973) is a modern Japanese woodblock print artist, working in a very distinct and novel style. It seems that the woodblocks are not carved to microscopic detail, but that by using superb printing technique he is able to create very lively imagery. Remotely analogous to pointillistic art, it seems that the prints of Junichi Mibugawa leave it to the mind of the viewer to automatically combine into vivid imagery the various easily discernible parts from up close.

One of Junichi Mibugawa’s strongest point is his ability to capture the nuances of light, especially apparent in the prints where he shows trees casting their shadows. This extends to being able to capture the differences in light between the various seasons, as for example shown in his print Sunlight in Winter, that could not depict any other season.

This style is very successful in displaying the countryside, woods and temples in nature. Though there is no Japanese woodblock print artist that is truly close in style, the prints of Maeda Koichi do share the countryside theme often, and with that also the use of many shades of green.

Junichi Mibugawa has been very active recently, and we look forward to seeing the future work of such a unique artist. Whenever new prints of him become available, we will offer them here.

See an overview of Junichi Mibugawa's woodblock prints