Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Preview image of work. Woodcut, hand-touched with black ink on cream Japanese paper, Hawk Woman 18956

2009.16.569

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Hawk Woman

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Artist

Shiko Munakata (Aomori, Japan, 1903 - 1975, Kamakura, Japan)

Title

Hawk Woman

Creation Date

1958

Century

mid-20th century

Dimensions

20 in. x 15 1/2 in. (50.8 cm x 39.37 cm)

Object Type

Creation Place

Asia, Japan

Medium and Support

Woodcut, hand-touched with black ink on cream Japanese paper

Credit Line

Gift of Charles Pendexter

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

2009.16.569

Takagari is the sport of falconry, long associated with Japanese nobility. This print depicts a female falconer who meets the gaze of the hawk resting on her right hand. Munakata consistently adhered to Buddhist and Shinto subjects, often depicting female kami (Shinto deities). Believing that the work’s origin emerged from spirit of the board, Munakata worked at a swift pace, often revising the image in the midst of the carving process. Nearsighted, he often worked with his face inches away from his sharp tools. Munakata’s unorthodox process and intense, vigorous engagement with the surface lent his public demonstrations of woodblock carving the aura of a performance. Carved with a triangular chisel, the jagged, forceful lines that compose the scene generate an active, expressionistic energy.

Keywords: Japanese art