Sadao Watanabe - ルツ物語 (The Story of Ruth)

A fabulous and monumental early print by Sadao Watanabe: ルツ物語 (The Story of Ruth). Stretching across nearly 1.5 metres of washi, the composition unfolds like an emaki (絵巻) scroll: Ruth gleaning in the fields, carrying sheaves, depicted in rhythmic procession among patterned foliage, animals, and birds. Created in 1947 and later dated 1958, this is the work that established Watanabe’s reputation, winning the first Folk Art Museum award and the prestigious Kokugakai prize. Endorsed by his mentor Keisuke Serizawa, it set the cornerstone for his career in biblical kappazuri stencil printing. ✝️🌾

• Year & Edition: Originally 1947, later signed & dated 1958 · Signed “Sadao Watanabe” lower right.
  
• Medium: Stencil print (kappazuri) on washi paper.
  
• Dimensions: Sheet H: 146.50 cm × W: 89.00 cm.
  
• Condition: Age-appropriate; produced on two joined sheets creating a central horizontal seam, paper stable with signs consistent with size and medium.
  
• Notes: Widely considered one of Watanabe’s most important works and among his largest prints. The narrative scroll-like layout invites the viewer to read the unfolding story of Ruth, one of the artist’s most celebrated biblical interpretations.

About the Artist

Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996) was Japan’s foremost Christian printmaker, celebrated for bold 合羽摺 (kappa-zuri) stencil prints on textured momigami paper. A student of 芹沢銈介 Keisuke Serizawa and shaped by 柳宗悦 Yanagi Sōetsu’s mingei movement, he devoted his career to retelling Old and New Testament stories through striking elongated figures and rich pigments of colour, drawing on 型染め (katazome) dye-resist techniques. Particularly collectable, his works are widely held, with examples at MoMA, the British Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT), and the Vatican. [ ← View All Works by Sadao Watanabe]