Bamboo

This print continues Kotozuka's investigation of bamboo as both subject and formal problem. The composition may isolate a small number of stalks against a pale ground, allowing the viewer to attend closely to the surface texture of the culms — their smooth green skin, segmented joints, and the pale ring at each node. Such close-focus compositions reflect an influence from both the [kacho-e](/glossary/kacho-e) tradition and modern photography, with which printmakers of Kotozuka's generation were increasingly familiar. The Kyoto studio process would have required the carver to render the cylindrical form of each culm through tonal variation in the printed color rather than modeled shading, a technically demanding task. This print likely shows the considered balance between linear structure and atmospheric color that defines Kotozuka's best bamboo work.