Edition 200. Signed in pencil and with the artist’s red seal. Numbered '110/200' and titled in Japanese, in pencil.
Image size 16 x 31 inches (787 x 406 mm); sheet size 19 1/4 x 34 inches (489 x 864 mm).
A fine impression with strong, fresh colors, on heavy, white wove paper; full margins (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches), in pristine condition.
Namiki employs a beautiful and unusual use of color; the very delicate white and pinks of the cherry blossoms contrast dramatically with the rich grays of the gnarled tree trunk and the orange-brown earth. The sky, printed in a reflective silver that gradates to a warmer pale bronze toward the ground, changes with the light source and the viewer‘s position, producing a dramatic representation of the qualities of a living tree in nature.
A depiction of the famous cherry tree of Gifu prefecture, designated a Japanese natural monument. Named Garyu no sakura “The Lying Dragon Cherry Tree” because its shape resembles a lying dragon. The beloved tree is said to be more than 1100 years old, and measures 15 meters high, with the trunk 7.3 meters around.
