A complete set in three volumes of Serizawa's rare compendium of stencil designs, volume 1 containing full-color designs, volume 2 black-and-white, and volume 3 a mix of color and black-and-white. Quarto (10 3/4 x 8 7/8 inches). Printed on high-quality traditional paper and bound in handmade paper or cloth covers, each volume housed in a board portfolio with title label affixed to the front cover. Exceptional condition. [Tokyo]: Gohachi, 1971-1973. Limited edition of 180 copies.

Keisuke Serizawa (1895-1984) was a Japanese textile designer and a master of the art of stencil dyeing, as well as a leader of the Japanese Mingei (folk art and craft) movement. He combined two textile dyeing techniques, the bingata of Okinawa (traditional resist-dyeing) and the Japanese ise-katagami (paper stencils) to create his own kataezome stencil dyeing process. Kataezome is the traditional Japanese technique of stamping stencils on handmade untrimmed Japanese mulberry paper.

Serizawa used the kataezome process to dye kimono fabrics, screens, wall hangings, fans, scrolls, calendars, and quilts. He also produced illustrated books and painted on paper, wood, ceramic, and glass. He helped to design the Kurashiki Ohara Art Museum, and in 1956 was one of the first living artists given the honorific designation of "Living National Treasure", a title bestowed upon him by the Japanese government and which provided him with a small stipend to train apprentices to continue his craft.

This rare suite of stencil print designs were inspired by traditional Japanese folk art. According to a post by the University of Pennsylvania, this set was created from a partnership between Serizawa and the publisher to be "a collectible art treasure that's carefully curated by the artist himself." Volume 1 contains 12 full-color calendar designs, with each month represented by a seasonal illustration with Japanese text incorporated. Volume 2 contains 49 black-and-white print designs which incorporate the word 'crafts' in kanji, many of which are symmetrical designs. They include landscape views, botanical illustrations, and other geometrical and nature motifs. Volume 3 is comprised of numerous monochromatic prints with red, green, and yellow ink painted over some. The designs are mostly of everyday objects which demonstrate some aspect of folk art life, including tea services, lanterns, chairs, clocks, puppets, cloth, weapons, and clothing. Each volume also contains a small paper pamphlet with a note from Serizawa, in which he describes the process of how the volumes were made and also how he was in the hospital when he put these volumes together. ("The History of the Book in East Asia", University of Pennsylvania)

These spectacular volumes are incredibly rare; as of March 2026, OCLC locates only one set in a North American library and one at the National Diet Library.

Book ID: 53668

Price: $4,500.00