Contemporary | Kappazuri/Stencil Print
Hiromitsu Takahashi’s kappazuri stencil print “睦” (Mutsumi) captures a tender kabuki embrace, the figures entwined in flowing lines of crimson and violet robes against a screened backdrop. Printed on fibrous Japanese washi paper, the piece exemplifies Takahashi’s gift for conveying sweeping movement and deep affection through bold, free-flowing colour. ❤️🤝
- Year & Edition: c. 2007 · Ed. of 25 (2/25) (signed “Hiromitsu” in pencil, dated).
- Medium: Kappazuri/Stencil.
- Dimensions: Sheet W: 37.00 cm × H: 47.00 cm.
- Condition: Excellent. Beautiful vibrant colours, paper clean & intact.
- Notes: “Mutsumi” (睦) in Japanese conveys harmony, closeness and affection. Here, Takahashi portrays two kabuki characters locked in a loving embrace. While Hiromitsu Takahashi doesn’t title this print after a specific play, the intimate embrace, the flowing robes and backdrop strongly evoke the clandestine lovers’ scene from Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (曽根崎心中). In kabuki and bunraku productions of Sonezaki Shinjū, the doomed pair Ohatsu and Tokubei meet beneath a moonlit lattice before their final pact - an image that Takahashi’s “Mutsumi” seems to mirror in its tender, sweeping lines and emotive composition.
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