SEKINO (Junichiro).
Takuzuri-ban kosetsu shiki [Ink rubbing book – The Story of the Blind Man from the Records of the Grand Historian]
Printed by rubbings from woodblocks
An unusual work that showcases Sekino Junichiro’s extraordinary breadth and skill as a printer.
Many of Sekino’s works are printed in woodblock or stencil, but for this book he opted for takuzuri. This is a printing method similar to Chinese inkstone rubbings, but applied to woodblocks. In the case of takazuri, the paper is dampened slightly before it is placed onto the block. This means that when rubbed with a baren (a flat, circular disk used for printing instead of a press), a deeper impression is made, including the blind impression of the places where the block has been carved. This allows us to see every mark the block cutter made into the block, which is not usually visible in woodblock printing. Thus we are able to see Sekino’s every mark much more clearly.
Muramatsu Ei (1923-2008), a scholar of Japanese and Chinese literature, had published a book under the same title Kosetsu shiki in 1968 with cover designed by Sekino. The book references the Chinese classic Shiji, known in English as the Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Qian in the 1st–2nd century BC.
Rare. No copies in OCLC.
