Hiromitsu Takahashi Japanese Kabuki Samurai Shiori Large Stencil on Washi 2/17 | Hand Signed #64892

This striking kappazuri print on quality washi paper is number 2 of just 17 produced. It is hand signed and numbered by the artist Hiromitsu Takahashi. It is a large size and measures 94cm x 62cm. There is light signs of handling around the edges.

This piece is typical of his iconic style and subject, Kabuki. Kabuki is a traditional Japanese artform where performers wearing elaborate costumes and make-up use stylised movement and song to enact melodramatic stories about love, loyalty and the clash between duty and emotion.

Paper Size: 94 X 62cm

Hiromitsu Takahashi (高橋 宏光, Takahashi Hiromitsu, born in 1959 in Kanagawa Prefecture), sometimes known simply as Hiromitsu, is a Japanese contemporary artist, specializing in kappazuri stencil prints depicting figures from the kabuki theatre.

Born in Kanagawa prefecture in 1959, Hiromitsu graduated from Nihon University in 1981, and currently operates out of the Tokyo area. An obvious successor to the ukiyo-e artists of the Edo period in his choice of subject (see yakusha-e, lit. “[kabuki] actor prints”), his methods and style show the strong influence of Yoshitoshi Mori, a stencil print artist whom Hiromitsu’s parents served as printers.

Takahashi has taken part in solo and group exhibitions both in Japan and abroad. He was named Most Promising Artist at the Grand Prix Exhibit at the Isetan Art Gallery in Tokyo, in both 1986 and 1989.

In 2020, Hiromitsu was the subject of Lucas Martineau’s book The “DyEing” Art of Kappazuri, contrasting the artist’s kappazuri techniques with the kabuki tales of his prints.