Woodblock Print by Shodo Kawarazaki: Bamboo

Three green stalks, and every leaf pointed somewhere different.

This woodblock print, titled Bamboo, is by Shodo Kawarazaki (1889-1973), from Japan, dated 1954, in ink on paper. Kawarazaki was among the printmakers of the shin-hanga and postwar era known for crisp flower and plant studies, cut and printed by teams of carvers and printers working from his designs. Pale jade stems rise the full height of the sheet, ringed at each joint. Sprays of narrow leaves burst outward in darker green, carefully graded from tip to base. A small character title sits at upper left, with a red seal and publisher notes below. It is 10.25 inches wide and 15 high.

Bamboo bends in a storm. This one never had to.