Portrait of Munakata Shikô

Shikō Munakata (1903–1975) was Sekino's most famous contemporary and a fellow native of Aomori, whose international reputation for expressionistic Buddhist-themed prints brought global attention to postwar Japanese printmaking. Sekino's portrait of Munakata carries particular biographical weight: the two men knew each other and shared a regional origin, though their artistic approaches differed considerably—Munakata's raw, spiritually charged carving contrasting with Sekino's more refined and formally controlled sensibility. This portrait is likely one of multiple depictions Sekino made of Munakata across his career. The challenge of portraying such a distinctive face—Munakata wore thick glasses and had a physically emphatic presence—required Sekino to find a visual language equal to his subject's force of character. The woodblock medium suited both men for different reasons, and this portrait reflects Sekino's attentiveness to individuality within the printed image.