-Be Yourself-

"-Be Yourself-" (2024) is an intaglio etching at 51 × 65 cm — a substantial plate size that accommodates extended tonal development through aquatint alongside etched line work. The hyphenated framing of the title in English signals a personal or declarative register rather than a referential pictorial subject, placing the work within the autobiographical and conceptual strain of contemporary Japanese intaglio practice rather than the pictorial traditions of ukiyo-e or shin-hanga. The print was selected for the 68th CWAJ Print Show in 2025 and sold during its run, a market reception confirming Kaga's standing within the mid-career cohort of CWAJ-affiliated printmakers. The intaglio process — acid-bitten copperplate, ink wiped into recessed lines, paper passed through a press under pressure — produces the dense blacks and graduated tonal fields characteristic of the medium, a register distinct from the relief impression of a baren on washi associated with the woodblock tradition. Her Tama Art University training situates this work within the technical lineage of Japanese intaglio pedagogy from the 1970s onward, where rigorous plate preparation and inking discipline remain central to studio practice.