Title unknown [four figures and four lanterns]

This 1971 print depicting four figures with four lanterns — untitled in the records — captures one of Kawakami's recurring compositional interests: the arrangement of human figures in relation to light sources, particularly the warm artificial light of lanterns against darkness. The pairing of figure and lantern created a compositional unit that Kawakami could multiply and vary: four lanterns and four figures suggest a festival or ceremonial occasion, the lights marking out a spatial and social arrangement. The lanterns' warm glow against darkness was a subject Kawakami rendered with particular affection.