Fumio Kitaoka’s 1963 woodblock shows freshly caught 烏賊 (ika, squid) spread across bamboo screens, their shapes backlit by the evening sun and fluttering in the coastal breeze. 🦑☀️
- Year & Edition: 1963 · Ed. of 100 (45/100) (signed, titled & dated in pencil).
- Medium: Woodblock.
- Dimensions: Sheet W: 52.50 cm × H: 42.50 cm; Image W: 44.75 cm × H: 33.75 cm.
- Condition: Excellent; no marks or discoloration; paper crisp & intact with only faint tape residue at upper margins.
- Notes: This early Kitaoka piece recalls the traditional preparation of スルメ (surume), sun-dried squid once common across Japan’s fishing villages. It highlights Hokkaido’s 函館 (Hakodate) - one of the nation’s largest squid-fishing ports - where the annual 函館港まつり (Hakodate Harbour Festival) turns the Pacific squid into a symbol of summer, celebrated with lively イカ踊り (ika odori, “Squid Dance”) parades, floats and street performances every August.
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