Ray Morimura, Gassan, 1998, Woodblock

Ray Morimura — Gassan (Mount Gassan), 1998 — signed limited edition multi-color woodblock Print, 16/50

A commanding aerial panorama of harvested rice paddies stretching toward distant hills, this large-format woodblock print by Ray Morimura ranks among the most arresting rural landscapes in contemporary Japanese printmaking. Rendered in the artist’s signature palette of gold ochre, slate grey, and deep black, the composition transforms the terraced fields of the Gassan region — a sacred mountain in Yamagata Prefecture — into an almost abstract tessellation of textures and rhythms. Haystacks line the field boundaries like sentinels, windbreaks of bare winter trees cut diagonal shadows across the plains, and a farmhouse with a solitary autumn tree in orange anchors the upper right — one quiet breath of warmth in an otherwise austere and magnificent landscape.

Morimura’s geometric abstract origins are unmistakable: rather than copying the landscape from life or working from sketches, he builds each composition from an internalized structural logic, imparting a near-architectural rhythm to the natural world.  Unlike most Japanese woodblock printmakers, he works with oil-based inks, carving both 6mm plywood blocks and 3mm blocks laminated with P-tile flooring material — a hybrid technique that permits extraordinary complexity of line and texture.  His paper of choice is kozo, uncoated mulberry bark paper, which works particularly well with the oil-based inks he prefers. 

This impression is numbered 16/50 — an unusually tight edition for the medium — hand-dated ’98, signed in pencil by the artist, and bears his personal red seal (hanko). The combination of pencil signature, edition number, and seal constitutes the full suite of authentication expected of a serious Sōsaku-hanga work.

Morimura has held numerous solo exhibitions in Japan and the United States and is a long-time participant in the prestigious annual CWAJ Print Show in Tokyo, with over 20 appearances to his name.  His prints are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Yale University; and the University of Maryland. 

Condition: Printed on hand-made washi with deckled edges; fresh colours; no restoration observed.

Medium : Multi-color oil-based relief print on kozo (mulberry bark) washi paper
Edition : 16/50
Date. : 1998 Dimensions: 59 × 43 cm (23¼ × 16⅞ in.) — image; sheet slightly larger Signature : Signed in pencil lower right; artist’s red seal; title and date inscribed lower left in Japanese (月山 ’98 乙)
Country of origin: Japan

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ray Morimura was born in Tokyo in 1948 and graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University. Initially he embarked on his career as a painter, experimenting with abstract and geometric forms, before transitioning to woodblock printmaking.  He was inspired by master artists Hatsuyama Shigeru and Kawakami Sumio, and began studying woodblock techniques from that foundation.  He has taught at Tokyo Zokei University and Nihon Kogakuin College, contributing to the education of a new generation of Japanese artists. 

A NOTE ON THE TITLE

The kanji inscription 月山 (Gassan, lit. “Moon Mountain”) in the lower margin confirms the title. Mount Gassan is one of the three sacred Dewa Sanzan mountains of Yamagata Prefecture and an iconic subject in Japanese landscape tradition — lending this work both topographic specificity and cultural resonance well beyond a generic rural scene.

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