"Puppet Woman's Head"

This print presents a close-up study of a bunraku puppet head (kashira), isolating the carved wooden face as a subject worthy of sustained attention. The kashira used for female roles in bunraku theater are distinguished by painted porcelain-white skin, delicate inlaid eyes, and hair arranged in period-appropriate coiffures. Kamei's treatment of this subject shifts the print from landscape into figurative territory uncommon in his recorded output, suggesting an interest in the theatrical arts of Kyoto and Osaka. The carver's craftsmanship — particularly the subtle modeling of cheeks and the precise line of the painted mouth — would have required careful gradation in the printing, likely using [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) to render dimensional qualities in a flat medium. The print functions as both documentary record and formal study of sculptural craft.