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“In 1956 the famous writer Tanizaki Jun’ichiro (1886-1965) asked his longtime friend Munakata to provide illustrations to accompany his forthcoming novel, Kagi (The Key), which was serialized in the literary magazine, Chuo koron. Munakata designed fifty-four prints that were produced in the order in which they appeared in the publication. The novel was a highly charged and somewhat dark exploration of relationships, presented as parallel diaries of a middle-aged husband and his younger wife, Ikuko, who he encourages to have an affair in order to stimulate his waning sexual desires.
The designs for the series captured the erotic tension of the novel, with cropped figures and fragmented scenes that complimented the dueling perspectives and passions of the husband and wife. This print is one of the most recognisable designs from the series, the striking Ikuko okubi-e (‘big head’) portrait, returning our gaze which according to the Munakata museum inspired him to design many more (now highly sought-after) okubi-e portraits of beauties.” 1
An exquisite lithograph produced on a very textural Japanese ‘washi’ paper, published by Yaskawa as part of their collaborative calendar project.
Original Printing Date: 1956 (Lithograph printed 2019)
Medium: Offset Lithograph
