高橋宏光 Hiromitsu Takahashi (1959-Present)

Keeping the Flame Alive: The Kappazuri Prints of Hiromitsu Takahashi

高橋宏光 Hiromitsu Takahashi (b. 1959, Kanagawa) is one of the last major figures working in kappazuri (型紙摺) - the traditional Japanese stencil printing technique once central to textile dyeing and later adapted to fine art by figures such as Serizawa Keisuke and Yoshitoshi Mori. Born into a creative household, Takahashi is the son of artists Takahashi Isao and Soeda Toshiko, who both served as printers for Mori and Serizawa. Initially resistant to following their artistic path, Hiromitsu graduated from Nihon University in 1981 and briefly worked as a salesman before returning to the studio.

Takahashi’s prints are rooted in the legacy of 20th-century stencil art, but carry a distinctly personal rhythm and style. Drawing on the dramatic gestures and expressive faces of Kabuki theatre, his compositions balance movement and stillness, often set against broad planes of rich colour. His use of handmade washi paper introduces a subtle textural depth that enhances the tactile quality of his work. Exposure to his mother’s intricate floral motifs and his father’s printing craftsmanship helped shape a practice that is both traditional and boldly contemporary.

Though working in the present day, Takahashi is widely recognised as the contemporary inheritor of Japan’s post-war stencil printmaking tradition - a direct creative descendant of Yoshitoshi Mori and Serizawa Keisuke. His editions are entirely handmade and often published in extremely small numbers, sometimes fewer than twenty per design. His prints have been exhibited internationally and gifted at the highest diplomatic levels, including by Japanese ambassadors during a 1994 visit to Cairo. With long-standing support from collectors and galleries such as The Tolman Collection (Tokyo), Takahashi continues to preserve and evolve one of Japan’s most endangered print traditions.