MUNAKATA SHIKO The Roc's Million-Mile Flight

• LOT

  1855

• Artist

  MUNAKATA SHIKO ( 1903 - 1975 )

• Estimate

  800,000 - 1,600,000 34,783 - 69,565 40,000 - 80,000 160,000 - 320,000 5,000 - 10,000

  JPY RMB HKD TWD USD

• Result

  Members only

• Details

  ink on paper　hanging scroll　
  signed and stamped signature
  Provenance:Osaka Art Club
  
  The title "Taiho Ikki Hyakumanri" is a phrase from the Chinese classic Zhuangzi. It refers to the giant bird Peng, which flies a million li in a single flight, symbolizing great ambition, boundless achievement, and freedom.
  
  MUNAKATA SHIKO was a Japanese printmaker who brought modern Japanese woodblock art to international prominence. Deeply influenced by the ideals of the Mingei (Folk Craft) movement advocated by Yanagi Soetsu and others, he developed a highly individual approach to woodblock printmaking. Raised in Aomori, he aspired to become an artist after encountering the works of Vincent van Gogh. He eventually came to regard the woodblock not merely as a reproductive technique but as a creative act through which he could directly express his spirituality, and used the term "itaga" (board pictures) to articulate his artistic philosophy. His boldly composed works, characterised by powerful carved lines, vigorous knife marks, and subtle variations in the density of ink, draw upon Buddhist cosmology, reverence for nature, and a celebration of human vitality, opening up new expressive possibilities within the tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking. Major series, including The Ten Great Disciples of Shakyamuni, Two Bodhisattvas and the Ten Great Disciples of Shakyamuni, and The Great World Screens, exemplify his spiritual intensity and distinctive sense of form. His international reputation was firmly established following his receipt of the International Grand Prize for Printmaking at the 1956 Venice Biennale. His works are held in the collections of major museums in Japan and abroad, including the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, the National Museum of Art, Osaka, and the Aomori Museum of Art. Munakata occupies a pivotal position in the history of modern Japanese art, having opened up new horizons for woodblock printmaking.
  
  The Roc's Million-Mile Flight in a Single Flight derives its subject from the chapter Xiaoyaoyou (Free and Easy Wandering) in the Chinese classic Zhuangzi. The mythical Peng, a colossal bird said to traverse a million li in a single flight, has long symbolised spiritual freedom, transcendence, and boundless vitality. Munakata Shiko interprets this timeless motif through vigorous brushwork and boldly articulated ink lines, using the bird's dynamic form to evoke both spiritual aspiration and the enduring force of life. Rooted in the artist's engagement with Buddhist thought and the Chinese classical tradition, the work exemplifies the expressive vitality of his later Yamato-ga (Japanese-style paintings), where fluid calligraphic expression and pictorial form are seamlessly integrated.
  
  136.1×34.5cm
  (53 ⅝ × 13 ⅝ in.)　

• Organizer

  Jo's Auction

• Auction

  Jo’s Auction Autumn Auction of Art Works 2026

• Catalog

  Contemporary Art/Modern&Post-War Art

• Date

  2026/10/21