Among Sekino's many subjects for prints, the Bunraku puppet theater, which dates from the seventeenth century, was a favorite. In this work he shows the puppet standing without the two or three black-robed manipulators present in actual performance. So great is the sense of being alive which the operators are able to put into their puppets that this semi-lifeless pose must slightly shock anyone who has seen the Bunraku in action. Sekino also provides a virtually blank background, which disguises the fact that puppets are less than one meter high and gives the illusion of a full-sized human being. Another example of this print - with variations in background within the same edition or possible from a later edition – can be found in the British Museum collection.

The print is 20 3/4" by 16 1/4" - the image size is 15 3/4" by 12". Other than the toning - and the turned down section at the top - it is in very fine condition with excellent registration and color. It is pencil signed, dated and numbered with the name of the puppet also in pencil.

Sekino, Jun’ichiro (1914 - 1988) was a leading artist in the Sosaku Hanga school of modern Japanese woodblock printing. Francis Blakemore in "Who's Who in Modern Japanese Prints", Weatherhill, 5th edition, 1983, has this to say: “Using a remarkable number of blocks to achieve an extraordinary color range for this medium, Sekino produced subtly colorful prints containing a seemingly infinite range of tones, as if challenging the medium to its logical limits. Sekino is one of the earliest modern print artists; his reputation today remains as impressive as his enormous output”.