The Mask Carver

In this large surimono print, a craftsman takes a break from fashioning a demon mask out of wood. Surimonoare privately published prints made on thick paper with more lavish pigments—as compared to commercial productions—and they usually bear poems. The rough shape of the mask reveals the horns of a hannya, or female demon. The artist, Katsushika Hokumei, studied under the influential Japanese painter and printmaker Katsushika Hokusai—a rare opportunity for a woman.