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Japanese Woodblock Prints

Glittering Sea (Hikaru Umi), 1926

Hikaru umi, from the Seto Inland Sea series — Yoshida Hiroshi, self-published, Tokyo

From the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Japanese prints collection · 1926

$129
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  • Printed to order in the country of delivery · ships in 2–4 days
  • Free US shipping over $75
  • 30-day free replacement if it arrives damaged or wrong
  • Archival matte paper, pigment inks; framed prints ship ready to hang
  • Framed: solid wood, 0.8 in wide · white mat, 2 in · clear acrylic front · D-ring and wire fitted
Rights & provenance record

Source scan: LOC (Prints & Photographs Division, Japanese prints).
Rights statement of the archive: “No known restrictions on publication. Ukiyo-e print by an artist who died before 1930; the impression itself was published before 1930 — public domain in the United States, Japan and the EU.”
Original print: Yoshida Hiroshi, 1926, 1 print : woodcut, color ; 41.1 x 27.6 cm.. Verified 2026-09-13.

This product is a new archival print made from a restored scan of that print. It is not an original antique and is not sold as one.

The story of this print

Yoshida Hiroshi was a painter who came to woodblock in his forties and pushed the medium further than anyone before him: Glittering Sea, from his 1926 Seto Inland Sea series, was printed from dozens of blocks and passes to build the sunset light on the water, with the sparkle on the waves cut as hundreds of tiny points. The boats are fishing craft under sail; the sea and sky are one graded field of yellow, orange and blue.

Yoshida printed his own work, supervising every impression, and this design is the one collectors of the shin-hanga — new print — movement prize most. He died in 1950, and the print, published in 1926, is public domain everywhere; it is the most modern sheet in our collection. The Library of Congress impression is superb, scanned at nearly 10,000 pixels tall, and it has been restored from that scan without redrawing.

The vertical sheet fits our 12×18, 16×24, 20×30 and 24×36 sizes exactly.

Printed to order on archival matte paper or canvas, framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Glittering Sea (Hikaru Umi), 1926: archive scan compared with the restored print

Restoration notes

Restoration: trimmed the mount and scanner margins, balanced levels while keeping the paper tone and the flat colour blocks of the woodblock impression (85% of the original colour retained), removed dust and specks, applied gentle sharpening. Toning, wormholes, the printer's registration and the collector's seals are kept where they belong to the object; nothing is redrawn.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

More from this collection

Glittering Sea (Hikaru Umi), 1926 — drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom
Size guide
5′6″ 12×16 in18×24 in24×36 in
SizeMetricBest for
12×16 in30×41 cmDesk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
12×18 in30×46 cmDesk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
16×24 in41×61 cmAbove a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
18×24 in46×61 cmAbove a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
20×30 in51×76 cmOver a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×32 in61×81 cmOver a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×36 in61×91 cmOver a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×40 in76×102 cmOver a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×48 in81×122 cmOver a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Sizes are the print size. Framed prints add about 1 in on each side. Sizes marked “aged-paper margin” keep the whole print and float it on a toned margin — nothing is cropped.

Informational purposes only, no warranties, not professional advice. All products are new archival prints made from restored scans of historical maps held by public archives; they are not original antiques. Colours vary by screen and by paper.