Boy and Rooster, Shôwa period, dated 1957

This 1957 print is one of Sekino's best-known pairings of a young boy with a rooster, a motif that drew on his memories of rural Aomori and the folk culture of the Tohoku region. The rooster's bold plumage and erect silhouette offer strong graphic material for woodblock carving, and Sekino would have used varied gouge widths to distinguish the feather textures from the smoother planes of the boy's clothing and face. The composition likely places the two figures in close proximity against a spare background, emphasizing their relationship rather than their setting. Printed in a sosaku-hanga mode, the work was conceived, carved, and printed by Sekino alone, and the visible grain of the woodblock beneath color areas contributes to the print's sense of handmade directness.