Yusui Toku “Unai” Series – ‘Tonbo’ 蜻蛉 (Dragonfly) – 1978 Showa Era Limited Edition Kaga Yuzen Washi Print

About the Artwork

This ethereal piece, titled 「蜻蛉」(Tonbo – “Dragonfly”), belongs to the Unai (うない) limited edition series by Yusui Toku (湯水得), created in 1978 during Japan’s Shōwa period.
It portrays two children gracefully suspended in midair, their flowing robes and ribbons evoking the delicate flight of a dragonfly. The soft rose-pink background, paired with intricate Kaga Yuzen–inspired textile patterns, radiates tranquility and joy.

Yusui Toku’s composition balances elegance and motion — capturing a dreamlike sensation of innocence, weightlessness, and the fleeting beauty of youth.

Poetic Inscription (Verso)

蜻蛉 (Tonbo)
好蟬之羽
衣裳斐施

(Wings as fine as a cicada’s —
robes adorned with gentle patterns —
the beauty of flight and grace entwined.)

This classical-style verse evokes the harmony between nature and childhood wonder, celebrating the lightness of spirit found in both the dragonfly and the human heart.

Artistic Symbolism

In Japanese symbolism, the dragonfly (tonbo) represents courage, victory, and renewal — a beloved emblem of the samurai and a motif of good fortune.
Through his Shōwa-modern reinterpretation, Yusui Toku transforms this symbol into a vision of innocent joy and poetic motion, merging Kaga Yuzen textile elegance with Nihonga tonal refinement.

As part of the Unai series, this work reflects Yusui’s broader vision: the preservation of classical beauty through the lens of modern Japanese art, where every gesture and color carries a quiet spiritual resonance.

Artwork Details

Artist: Yusui Toku (湯水得)
Title: 蜻蛉 (Tonbo / Dragonfly)
Series: Unai (うない)
Year: 1978 (Shōwa 53)
Medium: Woodblock / mixed media print on handmade washi paper
Style: Kaga Yuzen–inspired textile motifs with Nihonga tonal refinement
Edition: Limited to 50 prints
Publisher: Fuji Art Publishing (Japan)

Collector Highlights

• Features Yusui Toku’s signature Kaga Yuzen textile-inspired design and delicate Nihonga color balance

• Symbolizes flight, purity, and transformation, central to the Unai series’ poetic narrative

• A rare 1978 Shōwa-era limited edition print on fine washi paper

• Perfect for collectors of Japanese fine prints, modern poetic art, and Shōwa-period textile-inspired works