Hagoromo A

Another impression in the Hagoromo A series, this woodblock print reinterprets the classical figure of the flying celestial maiden (飛天, hiten) through Kawano's sosaku-hanga technique. The print likely shares its core composition with other A-variant impressions in the series while potentially differing in ink color, tone, or paper. Kawano's working method allowed him to adjust ink mixing and printing pressure between sessions, producing impressions with perceptible differences in color depth and surface quality even within a single edition. The hagoromo robe — traditionally depicted as translucent and multicolored in Buddhist painting — is here rendered in Kawano's characteristically flat, bold palette, translating religious iconography into a graphic idiom suited to mid-century taste. The figure's pose likely suggests upward motion, consistent with the hiten's role as an airborne messenger figure in Buddhist visual culture.