Puppet Show, Shôwa period, dated 1960

This 1960 print records a scene from Japanese puppet performance, likely depicting the manipulation of a bunraku puppet or a regional folk puppet tradition. Sekino was deeply interested in traditional performing arts as subjects, and puppet imagery allowed him to explore the tension between the human operator and the articulated figure. The composition probably contrasts the expressive, stylized face of the puppet with the concentrated presence of the performer. Technically, the subject would demand both fine facial detail and broader areas of flat or graduated color for costumes and staging. The work belongs to a body of prints in which Sekino documented theatrical culture as living folk heritage rather than historical curiosity.