HIROMITSU -- LAST OF THE KAPPAZURI ARTISTS

In art circles, Japan is known as the land of the print ?woodblock, silkscreen, etching, mezzo- and aqua-tints, linoleum cuts, wood engraving, lithograph, laser, and photography-enhanced mixed-media works of every type abound. Some say that there are at least 70,000 Japanese who list their occupation as "print artist."

One couldn't say that kappazuri, or Japanese stencil printing, was ever in the forefront of graphic art. However, such luminaries as Serizawa Keisuke, named a Living Cultural Treasure for his efforts, and Mori Yoshitoshi, immensely popular with everyone for his work centered on themes from Kabuki, Japanese history, and the daily life of "downtown" Tokyo, seized the attention of collectors for many decades. In addition, others like the "Christian” printmaker, Watanabe Sadao, whose works hang in the Vatican, and Kawada Kan, who chronicled the old-style architecture of Japan in his work, also brought a lot of interest from those who wanted to have a complete collection of the various aspects of print art.

Takahashi Hiromitsu is the son of Takahashi Isao and Soeda Toshiko, both of whom were first students of Mori and Serizawa and then printed for them. Hiromitsu was brought up in an artistic lifestyle, and although he went through college and studied law, he quickly realized that his interests lay closer to home -- and to art. He quit his first job and has devoted himself to this difficult and exacting art form for 20 years.

The Tolman Collection, having been actively involved with Mori (1898-1992), was taken with this colorful and humorous art form, and decided in 1987 to offer Hiromitsu his first exhibition with our growing company. We have done regular solo shows for him in our gallery. We have held blockbuster exhibitions at the Hankyu Dept. Store's Yurakucho venue. We have shown his work in Hiroshima. We have even held a large exhibition in Singapore. It was during that exhibit that I found myself trying to explain the details of the kappazuri process in Chinese on a TV show that I thought was going to be conducted in English -- until they turned the cameras on. We never knew if it was the excellence of the stencil prints or the rich and innovative level of my Mandarin that made the show such a success. But as with all successful things, we didn't care why -- we were just happy that it was a success.

Norman Tolman

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