Description
The Print
A crowd of men in white happi coats surges forward through the night, carrying a massive decorated festival float (yamakasa) crowned with a giant red tai (sea bream) fish, pine branches, and festival banners. The scene captures the oiyama — the climactic dawn race of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival, in which teams sprint through the streets of Hakata carrying floats weighing up to a ton. The composition is dense with energy: the deep blue night sky contrasts with the warm reds and golds of the float, while the massed figures below convey the physical intensity and communal spirit of the event.
The print is number 58 from an edition of 180, hand-signed in pencil by the artist with the characters にし島 (Nishijima) and bearing a red artist’s seal. The title 追いやま (Oiyama) is inscribed in pencil below the image.
The Artist
Nishijima Isao (西島伊三雄, 1923–2001) was a Fukuoka-born graphic designer, illustrator, and printmaker who devoted much of his career to documenting and celebrating the cultural traditions of his native Hakata. A graduate of the Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts, he served in the Japanese Navy during World War II, later returning to Fukuoka where he became one of the city’s most prominent visual artists. He was a member of the Nika Association and the Japan Advertising Artists Club.
Nishijima is perhaps best known locally for designing the station symbols for the Fukuoka City Subway system — still in daily use — and for his extensive body of children’s book illustrations depicting Hakata life and customs. He was posthumously named an Honorary Citizen of Fukuoka in 2004. His work is displayed at the Warabe-kan museum on Nokonoshima Island in Hakata Bay.
His limited-edition woodblock prints on Hakata themes occupy a distinct niche: they are not traditional ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, or sōsaku-hanga, but rather the work of a modern graphic artist applying woodblock printmaking techniques to regional cultural documentation. The small edition sizes (typically 180 impressions) and the artist’s growing posthumous reputation make these prints increasingly scarce on the secondary market.
The Subject: Hakata Gion Yamakasa
The Hakata Gion Yamakasa (博多祇園山笠) is one of Japan’s most celebrated summer festivals, held annually from July 1st to 15th in the Hakata district of Fukuoka. The festival’s origins date to 1241, when the Buddhist monk Shōichi Kokushi was carried through the streets on a platform while scattering blessed water to ward off a plague epidemic. Over nearly 800 years, this ritual evolved into the spectacular float-racing festival that exists today.
The oiyama (追い山, literally “chasing the mountain”) is the festival’s climax, held at dawn on July 15th. Seven teams of men, wearing only white happi coats and fundoshi loincloths, race through a five-kilometre course through central Hakata, each team carrying a decorated float (kakiyama) weighing approximately one ton. The race is timed, and the results are a matter of intense local pride. The festival was designated a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016 as part of the broader recognition of Japanese float festivals.
The Series: Three Views of Hakata
This print belongs to the series Hakata Sankei (博多三景, Three Views of Hakata), a set of three large-format woodblock prints by Nishijima depicting iconic scenes from Hakata’s cultural calendar. The title references the traditional Japanese convention of “three famous views” (sankei) applied to notable landscapes and cityscapes — most famously the Nihon Sankei (日本三景, Three Views of Japan).
Condition
Good to very good. The print is framed behind glass. Colours are vivid and well-preserved: the deep blue sky, bright reds, and warm earth tones show no visible fading. The paper appears clean with no tears, holes, or foxing visible through the glass. The frame is simple and in serviceable condition. A full condition report of the unframed print will be provided upon receipt.
Authenticity
Original woodblock print (mokuhanga), hand-signed and numbered by the artist. Edition 58 of 180. Bears the artist’s pencil signature (にし島) and red seal. Not a reproduction or modern facsimile. Sourced from a Japanese collection via Yahoo Auctions Japan.
Shipping & Framing
This print is currently framed behind glass. It will be shipped in its frame with appropriate protective packaging. Due to the glass and frame, shipping costs may be higher than for unframed prints. If you prefer to receive the print unframed (removed from its current frame for safer and more economical shipping), please contact us before ordering and we will arrange this where possible.
