Cover of Shinsaku hanga karenda 1965

Designed as the cover image for the 1965 Shinsaku hanga calendar — a publication associated with the sosaku-hanga movement — this print served a commemorative and promotional function, likely featuring a bold, emblematic composition suited to calendar format. Maekawa frequently contributed to print calendars and collaborative portfolios, and his cover designs tended toward clear, immediately legible imagery: a single figure, a bird, or a seasonal motif rendered with confident line and flat color fields. The format would have been printed on washi using multiple blocks, with registration precision required for the clean edges expected of a publication piece.