IMC 2024 Echizen submission

This print was Kobayashi's juried submission to the Fifth International Mokuhanga Conference (IMC 2024), held in Echizen, Japan, where it was selected for the Asia regional exhibition. As a contemporary mokuhanga work, it was produced using water-based pigments printed from hand-carved woodblocks onto washi, with impressions taken by [baren](/glossary/baren) rather than press. Echizen washi — the handmade paper from Fukui Prefecture that has been produced for over 1,500 years — is the customary support for IMC exhibition works, and submissions are typically printed at sizes compatible with the conference's portfolio formats. Contemporary mokuhanga selected for IMC tends to depart from the figurative [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) and [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) lineage of Edo and Meiji [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e), instead exploring abstraction, reduction-block techniques, and layered [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations as a vehicle for personal imagery. Kobayashi's inclusion in the Asia regional grouping situates his practice within the network of Japan-based printmakers maintaining water-based woodblock methods while pursuing individual artistic directions, in dialogue with the international mokuhanga community that gathers at the triennial conference.