Onchi Koshiro zo (Portrait of Onchi Koshiro) / Ichimoku-shu (First Thursday Collection, Vol 1)

Onchi Koshiro (1891–1955) was the founding figure of the sosaku-hanga movement and Sekino's most important mentor, the artist who more than any other established the principle that the printmaker should design, carve, and print the work entirely by hand. This portrait — published in the Ichimoku-shu (First Thursday Collection), a portfolio series associated with the Tokyo printmaking circle — is a tribute from student to teacher. Sekino's portraits of notable figures in Japanese art carry documentary weight beyond their pictorial qualities, and this print of Onchi would have been made with full knowledge of the subject's appearance, character, and historical significance. The composition likely presents Onchi in a straightforward frontal or three-quarter pose, with background elements either neutral or symbolically relevant to his printmaking practice. The Ichimoku-shu publication context gave the print a specific audience of fellow artists and collectors deeply familiar with Onchi's legacy, raising the expressive stakes of every compositional choice.