Narukami II (ed. 4/15)

This impression belongs to Takahashi Hiromitsu's Narukami II woodblock series, edition of fifteen. Narukami as a kabuki subject invites graphic treatments centered on the play's most visually charged moments — the priest's aragoto appearance with associated kumadori makeup, the waterfall enclosing the imprisoned dragon deity, or the seduction scene that precipitates the dramatic climax. The small edition size of fifteen places this work within the sōsaku-hanga tradition of limited, hand-printed series, where the artist controls carving, printing, and edition management personally or in close collaboration with a printer. Each impression in such a series is printed to a common visual standard while retaining the slight physical individuality inherent in hand-applied pigment on washi. The woodblock technique allows Takahashi to employ a broader formal vocabulary than kappazuri stencil printing, including carved line, tonal gradation, and surface texture.