"Bunraku Puppet Head" by Tobei Kamei (Japan, 1901-1977), original rare Japanese woodblock print, published 1949, perhaps the 6th out of a 20 print series, loose - 9 3/4" x 13 3/4". 
 
Tobei Kamei, originally named Eiichi, was born in Yuasa-cho, Wakayama Prefecture. He commenced his artistic journey by studying traditional Japanese painting at the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting. In 1929, Kamei was instrumental in founding the Kyoto Sosaku Hanga Kyokai, a collective of Kyoto artists committed to the philosophy of sosaku hanga in printmaking. Kamei stands among the Kyoto artists who embraced the sosaku hanga concept, emphasizing self-creation, self-carving, self-printing, and self-publication in printmaking. Alongside these, Kamei also designed prints aligned with the shin hanga style, which were published by Kyoto's prominent publishers, Uchida and Unsodo. by Tobei (Japan, 1901-1977) are in the collections of the Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, Carnegie Museum of Art, Harvard Art Museum, LA County Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo