Poem 71-91 by Maki Haku, 1971, woodblock print, ink and color on paper with embossing
Maki Haku (巻白; 1924–2000) is the artistic name of Maejima Tadaaki, who was born inIbaraki Prefecture.[1] He was asōsaku-hanga artist in 20th CenturyJapan.[2] DuringWorld War II, Maejima Tadaaki was trained as akamikaze pilot in the Japanese air force, but the war ended before he was assigned a mission.[3] Haku had no formal art training, but studied for two years with thesōsaku-hanga artistOnchi Kōshirō (1891–1955).[4]
Two unique qualities of Maki Haku prints are the textures achieved by working the designs in wet cement and the use ofKanji (Chinese characters) as design motifs.[5] In 1962, he started adding texture to his prints. At first, he added texture to the entire sheet after it was printed. In 1965, he began embossing designs into unprinted paper by using a press to transfer a design created in cement on a carved plywood board, and then adding color with stencils.[6][7] He distorted and rearranged the strokes of Chinese characters to produce striking and serene images. For example,Poem 71-91 is a highly stylized representation of thekanji無, which is pronounced mu and means nothingness, an important concept in some forms of Buddhism.
Haku participated in the Tokyo International Print Biennale in 1957 and 1960. The bookFestive Wine: Ancient Japanese Poems from the Kinkafu is a translation of 21 ancient poems called Kinkafu orMusic for Wagon Songs. The translation is accompanied by Maki Haku's prints that were made in 1968–69.
