Page from Hagoromo (Feathered Robe), Shôwa period, circa 1984-1986

This page from Matsubara's Hagoromo series focuses on the figure of the tennin, the celestial maiden seeking the return of her feathered robe. In the Noh text, she is rendered bereft without the garment — unable to ascend and deprived of her identity as a heavenly being. Matsubara's treatment of the figure would draw on her characteristic economy of form: simplified silhouettes carved with directional gouge work that conveys psychological weight through posture and gesture rather than facial detail. The surrounding space, whether rendered as open sky or spare coastal ground, would contribute to the isolation the drama assigns to the maiden. This page sits within the sequence as a moment of stillness before the negotiation and dance that follow, and the printing on absorbent washi paper allows the ink to settle with an evenness appropriate to the scene's atmosphere of suspension.