Untitled

Without a recorded title, this print continues Shoichi Kitamura's investigation of the Japanese countryside through traditional materials. The image likely depicts a rural scene — a mountain pass, a river course, a stand of trees, or a cluster of farmhouse roofs — pulled by hand on washi paper using carved cherry blocks and water-based pigments. The choice of materials is consequential to the result: washi's long fibers absorb pigment differently from machine-made paper, and the [baren](/glossary/baren)'s hand pressure produces an even but never mechanical impression. [Bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradation, achieved by varying ink application on the block before printing, carries atmospheric transitions through the composition. Within his wider catalogue, the untitled prints often function as observational studies rather than identified [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e). Kitamura's sustained practice connects him to the contemporary continuation of mokuhanga as an active craft tradition, distinct from both the pre-war [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) revival movement and the experimental [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) current that developed alongside it.