Kotarō in the role of Yayoi 1915

Natori Shunsen made "Kotarō in the role of Yayoi" without fixing it in time. The image, built with blocks of colour, floats in a world of theatre. I wonder what it was like for Shunsen, making these prints? The registration of each block must have been so hard to keep consistent; it makes me sympathize and feel for them. All those maple leaves, each one is like a little painting in its own right. And then those sharp stripes cutting across. It is an exciting composition! The eyes tell us this character is thinking, feeling. It makes me think about other artists, like Utamaro, and how they also captured these fleeting, theatrical moments. I see that ongoing exchange of ideas. Like we’re all in this big conversation, riffing off each other, across time. It is all a continuous exchange of ideas, with each artist expressing something new.