Wakabayashi

"Wakabayashi" is a 1982 oban color woodblock print by Micah Schwaberow named after a Japanese place or person. Wakabayashi is a common Japanese surname and also a district name found in several cities, including Sendai. The title's simplicity, a single proper noun, suggests the print captures the essential character of its subject without embellishment. Schwaberow's method of working in traditional mokuhanga, carving cherry or shina plywood blocks and printing with water-based sumi and mineral pigments, gives the print a material quality distinct from Western printmaking techniques. The oban format provides generous space for the composition to develop, whether the subject is a landscape associated with the Wakabayashi name or a more abstract response to a personal encounter. The bare title invites viewers to meet the image on its own terms rather than through descriptive language.