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The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 1]

1733 · Osaka : Shibukawa Seiemon 渋川清衛門 et al. · 13 pictures

The Cicada Stream is a Japanese calligraphy album published in Osaka in 1733 by Shibukawa Seiemon and associates, presenting cursive kana script for readers and practitioners of handwriting. The pages show double-page spreads of flowing black brushwork on pale paper, with a few small round seal stamps; a designer might take from them the energy of gestural line, the rhythm of vertical columns, and the balance of dense strokes against open ground.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library