Sekino Jun'ichiro (1914-1988) Japanese, Signed and Numbered Sumo Woodblock Print. Close up image of two sumo wrestlers face to face in the ring, with a judge looking on over their shoulders. Red seal in kanji bottom right in print. Signed in English and dated 1977 in pencil bottom right. Numbered 17/128 in pencil bottom left. 

Overall Size: 20 3/8 x 25 3/8 in. 

Sight Size: 14 3/4 x 20 1/8 in. 

Sekino Jun’ichirō was born in Aomori, Japan on October 23rd, 1914, considered an artistic genius by his early mentors and gaining national recognition after winning prestigious prizes in the 1930s. Upon moving to Tokyo in 1939 he became the "right-hand man" to movement leader Kōshirō Onchi and a founding member of the influential Ichimokukai (First Thursday Society), emerging as a leading postwar Japanese artist within the sosaku hanga (creative print) movement, renowned for his technical mastery across woodblock, etching, and lithography. He established himself as Japan's pre-eminent woodblock portraitist with his 1947 depiction of kabuki actor Nakamura Kichiemon I, later expanding his repertoire to include landscapes and abstract works. During the 1950s and 60s he achieved international acclaim, teaching at esteemed American institutions such as the Pratt Institute and Oregon State University, and his prolific career included over 400 prints and celebrated series like the "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō," which were famously exhibited alongside Hiroshige’s originals. He died from lung cancer on April 13th, 1988, and is still remembered today for his Western-influenced precision and his critical role in standardizing modern Japanese printmaking techniques.

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