White Cat and Kitten

The subject of a white cat with her kitten presented Sekino with a specific formal problem: representing white forms against a ground without losing the definition of the figures. His likely solution draws on the sosaku-hanga practice of using the unprinted washi surface itself as white, reserving the cats in bare paper while building the surrounding tone, and introducing cool blue-gray shadow passages to model the fur's volume. The kitten would be differentiated by smaller scale, rounder proportion, and shorter, more tentative carved marks describing its softer coat. The composition probably places the two figures in close proximity—the adult cat's body curved around or adjacent to the kitten—using negative space and subtle shadow to articulate both forms against the ground. The understated palette focuses attention on the formal relationship between the two figures.