Lyrique No. 31: Sorrowful Excitement

"Lyrique No. 31: Sorrowful Excitement" of 1954, executed in paper print technique, pairs two emotional states in productive tension — the contradiction of feeling both sorrow and excitement simultaneously, the kind of complex affect that characterizes significant personal transitions. Onchi's late paper prints achieved a softness and atmospheric quality impossible with carved wood, and this technical gentleness suits the emotional complexity of a title that refuses to resolve conflicting feelings into either simple grief or simple joy.