Japanese Crane and Sun Print

Flying Crane, Rising Sun

A close-up of this print on museum-quality textured cotton rag paper

This print features an Asian crane flying across the red disc of the rising sun at the horizon.

I loved this image when I first saw it on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website. This was a woodblock print created by 八島岳亭 (Yashima Gakutei) back in about 1835. All of the prints were created so long ago that they all show a loss of detail and portions were clipped. I spent many hours working on the restoration of the image. You can now enjoy how this would have looked 188 years ago, but for a price, you can afford. I also cheated a little, as the original was a little over 8" (20cm) wide. Mine is almost 30% wider, so it makes a better presentation on your wall.

On the right, you will see the artist's given name, 岳亭, written vertically, in black characters. Below, a red stamp appears to be a circle around a 島 character. But the circle is a stylized 八 character (see the breaks at the top and bottom of that oval/circle? Those make it two strokes, hence 八). This is 八島 (Yashima), the artist's surname portion of his signature for this piece. Upon first glance, some may think it's just a circle around 島 (Note: 島 means island by itself).

At the top, there are some poems. On the right is a Chinese ode or poem that speaks of the horizon meeting the red-crowned crane over and over for rebirths that expand 1000 years of history in China. The text on this artwork is written in vertical columns, starting from the right, as all old Chinese writing does. Below, I typed it left-to-right to match the orientation of this text:
天邊如布練
回轉又為霞
丹頂與丹頂
蘇生千歲華

I have not found anyone who can translate the ancient Japanese poem on the upper left. The last characters on the far right are 倭和夛守. However, I am not sure of the third character. It seems to be a variant that is no longer used. It might be a variant of 多 or 尋, but nobody that looked at this was sure. Also not sure of the meaning, maybe a personal name.

The artist is believed to be the illegitimate son of Samura Hirata under the Totugawa Shogunate. His mother later married into the Yashima Clan, thus the artist taking the surname Yashima.

The unofficial Japanese title of this piece is 旭日飛鶴 (Kyokujitsu Hikaku) which means, "Sun Rising, Flying Cranes". However, this same title is given to many images of cranes flying by a sunrise.

Between the many hours I spent restoring the image quality, printer cost, ink, other labor, and other materials, I will never make any profit on these, but it's a labor of love. I really like this image and wanted to bring it to the world.

---

About These High-Quality Prints:

I have invested over $6000 in my new Giclée fine art printer, and use UV inks that are expected to last 90 years if not hung in direct sunlight.

Yes, I am cheaper than AllPosters.com, and yet I use the highest-quality papers from the best sources along with the best archival inks. Also, you are buying a quality print from an Asian art fanatic. I really put my heart and soul into these prints.

---

Size Info:

I mainly offer this in an 11x14" size. This is a frame size that you can find at any place that sells picture frames in the USA. Use a coupon at Michaels and you can choose from frames that start at $12 for 11x14. If you need a different USA size or international metric size, just let me know, and we can work out the details.

Because I am making this fine art prints in my own studio just east of San Diego, I can do just about any custom version or modifications that you might need. Your imagination and your wallet are the only limitation.

---

About the paper...

The gorgeous texture of this museum-quality paper

I am using some really nice museum-grade Palo Duro Etching paper. This is a high-performance textured cotton paper. It gives you the classic look of a fine watercolor paper. The surface adds just the right amount of texture and will not distract from the details. This is an OBA-free archival paper that is ideal for museum quality and conservation grade prints like this.

Surface: Textured matte Made From: 100% Cotton rag

Here is a print in a nice
rustic wooden frame without matting.

You can also mount this in a frame
with pre-cut matting.

---

New prints fresh out of the press.

Satisfaction Guaranteed!

I love creating these fine art prints! I think they look even better in person than they do on the website. However, if you don't love your print when you receive it, just return it within 30 days for a full refund. No questions asked!

---

Want to know more about the printer?

A photographer that I admire, Jeremy Cowart, and his Canon imagePROGRAF printer.

It took me a few years to find just the right fine art giclée printer.

This Canon giclée printer has 18,432 nozzles and can fire more than 32 Million precision droplets of ink per second. Your home inkjet printer cannot compete with that.
There are 12 ink tanks, and with so many ink colors, the gamut is excellent.
This printer can reproduce any color the human eye can perceive, and the gradients and tones are smooth and, well, perfect.

I use only authentic Canon Lucia Pro pigment-based inks. This ink archival and UV-resistant. In independent laboratory testing, giclée prints created with this ink are rated to last 90 years without fading. You'll get a lifetime of enjoyment from this artwork.