Tokyo Arabesque (Haneda Airport)

Part of Watarai Junsuke's series documenting contemporary Tokyo through intaglio, this print takes Haneda Airport as its subject within a tradition of [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) (famous places imagery) that extends from Hiroshige's nineteenth-century views to the postwar city. The title's Arabic term for interlaced ornamental patterning likely refers to the geometric rhythms of runways, taxiways, and terminal architecture seen from an elevated or aerial vantage. The combination of four intaglio techniques — etching for crisp linear structure, aquatint for atmospheric tonal passages, lift ground for spontaneous brushed mark transfers, and soft ground for textured surface impressions — allows Watarai to layer hard-edged architectural elements against softer, weather-dependent tones. Aquatint rosin dust creates characteristic granular midtones, lending the composition a photographic depth while remaining visibly hand-worked. The use of BFK Rives or comparable fine European printing paper accommodates the multiple bite depths the plate would require. The airport as subject updates the urban landscape genre, substituting modernist infrastructure for the temples and bridges of Edo-period precedents.