Nishijima Katsuyuki – Welcoming Face

Original woodblock print, hand-signed by the artist. First published in 2000.

The print likely depicts a shop selling Yatsuhashi, a famous traditional Japanese sweet from Kyoto, as indicated by the noren at the entrance, inscribed with “八ツ橋.” Right in front of the noren is a Tanuki, a statue of a raccon commonly found in front of Japanese shops, though the tradition seems to be slowly fading. The Tanuki is believed to bring good fortune to the shop and serves to welcome visitors. This small woodblock print, aptly titled “Welcoming Face,” indeed has the charm to attract viewers to enter the shop behind the noren.

Image size (excluding margins): 16.1 * 10.9 cm (6.3 * 4.3 in).

The print is in excellent condition.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Nishijima Katsuyuki b. 1945) is a prolific and popular Japanese woodblock artist. He has been perfecting his art since half a century, working in the Sosaku Hanga (creative prints) style, and thus carving and printing all by himself.

He has developed a completely unique style, making his prints recognizable from across the room. Common themes are country side landscapes and city scenes. Here, the scenes do not show people or modern tools, creating a timeless beauty, where, to an extent, it is possible to imagine oneself being in the present or a century earlier just as easily.

Nishijima Katsuyuki signs his prints, but many of the designs are unnumbered. With many designs and possibly recurring editions for his unnumbered prints, it seems that it was possible for him to keep them relatively affordable.

See an overview of Nishijima Katsuyuki's woodblock prints