With original label
Shōwa period
Designated Living National Treasure
Frame: H 52 cm × W 64.5 cm
A framed work by Keisuke Serizawa, a Living National Treasure of stencil dyeing (katazome), taken from his illustrated book Okinawan Scenes. Known for its vibrant colors and beloved for decades, this book is a visual tribute to the dreamlike Okinawa Serizawa encountered before World War II. This particular scene, “No. 4: Shops,” shows stores selling Awamori liquor, lacquerware, and woodwork. Items such as pillow boxes, tea trays, storage chests, and candlesticks appear along the top. Serizawa’s exceptional sense of color and composition brings the energetic atmosphere of Okinawa to life.
Keisuke SERIZAWA
1895 – 1984
He was a Japanese textile designer. In 1956, he was designated as a Living National Treasure by the Japanese government for his katazome stencil dyeing technique. A leading member of the mingei movement founded by Yanagi Sōetsu, Serizawa visited Okinawa several times and learned the Ryūkyū bingata techniques of dyeing. His folk-art productions included kimono, paper prints, wall scrolls, folding screens, curtains, fans, and calendars. In 1981, the Municipal Serizawa Keisuke Art Museum was opened in the city of Shizuoka. Other museums that hold his work include the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Harvard Art Museums, the Seattle Art Museum, the British Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the Museum of New Zealand.
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