Happi Girl

Happi Girl, edition 117 of 200 from 1996, pairs the same happi coat subject with a girl figure, creating a companion piece to the Happi Boy series. The happi coat's bold graphic patterns — often featuring family crests, traditional motifs, or the name of a festival association — align naturally with Kaneko's own graphic print sensibility. His children in traditional festival dress embody a vision of Japanese popular culture as joyful, accessible, and alive rather than reverentially preserved.