Face (Child) [Kao (Kodomo)]

This 1962 color woodblock print from an edition of 50 depicts a child's face, the Japanese subtitle "Kao (Kodomo)" confirming the youthful subject. Kinoshita Tomio's treatment of a child's face contrasts with his adult face studies: a child's features are softer, rounder, and less defined, with proportionally larger eyes and a smaller chin. The decision to render a child's face in the same semi-abstract, mask-like style used for adults creates a striking effect, since the simplification simultaneously reads as the natural openness of a young face and the deliberate reduction of an artistic process. Edition number 20 of 50 indicates a limited run that maintained consistent quality across all impressions. The print belongs to the broader "faces" theme that dominated Kinoshita's output, here extended to include the earliest stage of human physiognomy.