Togyu Okumura - Sketch of a Maiko (舞妓素描)

This preliminary sketch captures a Kyoto maiko with exquisite sensitivity, rendered in pencil and colored pencil. Togyu Okumura, one of the most celebrated nihonga masters of 20th-century Japan, was renowned for distilling the essence of his subjects through careful, empathetic observation. This rare figurative study demonstrates the artist's consummate draftsmanship, with delicately rendered facial features accented by warm gold tones in the obi and hair ornaments. The red personal seal of Togyu Okumura, applied in the lower right of the composition, authenticates this intimate work as a direct study from life.

Artist: Togyu Okumura (Japan, 1889–1990)

Year: 1889–1990

Medium: Drawing, Collage or other Work on Paper

Materials: Pencil and colored pencil on paper

Classification: Unique

Size: (H) 45.1 cm, (W) 37.0 cm. Framed: (H) 63.5 cm, (W) 55.5 cm, (D) 5.0 cm

Signature: Artist's red seal stamp (rakkan) in lower right of artwork. Hand-written title and seal also on label affixed to back of frame.