Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)

This untitled work by Inuzuka Taisui is a woodblock print consistent with the artist's known output of shin-hanga botanical and nature subjects. The physical dimensions of Taisui's prints, while not recorded for this specific work, typically followed standard shin-hanga formats. The oban size (approximately 39 by 26 centimeters) was the most common format for botanical prints, providing enough space to render a flower or branch at close to life size while fitting standard matting and framing proportions. Some kacho-e artists also worked in the narrower tanzaku format, which echoed the proportions of the poetry cards used in traditional Japanese calligraphy. The format Taisui chose for a given subject would have influenced the composition's vertical or horizontal emphasis.