Camellia D

Identified as variant 'D' within Kawano's camellia series, this print represents one of several formal explorations of the tsubaki subject. The alphabetical designation suggests Kawano produced this series systematically, varying composition, cropping, or palette across multiple blocks carved for the same general subject. In woodblock printing, producing multiple variants of a single subject was common practice — each new state could be printed as a distinct edition while sharing some blocks with related works. Variant D may differ from the primary camellia print in the number of blooms depicted, their arrangement on the picture plane, or the color register employed. Kawano's sosaku-hanga training meant he made all these decisions himself, without the division of labor characteristic of Edo-period commercial production. The camellia's bold, circular blooms and contrasting foliage suited his graphic sensibility well. Printed in limited edition on washi, this work would have been produced for both domestic and, primarily, Western collectors who sought Kawano's work in the postwar decades.