Unknown Maker, Japanese

Large-scale katagami such as these—in particular those with large open areas for printing negative spaces—require silk-thread insertions (ito ire) for support. Working anonymously within guilds, skilled carvers used thrust-carving (tsukibori) techniques to achieve sensuous curves and delicate stripes (shima). The stencil at the far right features cattail stripes (gama suji), a striped pattern with tapered swellings.