Japanese woodblock print

NOTES/DATE/ETC: 1974, first and only edition, AP (artist proof)

SIZE IN INCHES: 17.75 x 13 inches

COMMENTS: A rare and sensual design showing a Japanese beauty (bijin) in a red bikini surfing on a wave styled after Hokusai. "Surfer Girl" is Okada's best-known and most sought-after design. Published in 1974 in an editon of only 100, it is now rarely found.

YOSHIO OKADA produced a number of prints in the mid-1970s and early 1980s and then seems to have abruptly left the Japanese print world. He is best known for his Genji Monogatari designs that were commissioned by a Japanese newspaper to accompany a serialized version of the story written by the well-known writer Tanabe Seiko. It ran on Sundays for a year, and when it was done, the illustrations and story were published in book form.

VG, small spot of blue ink on girl's back in hair; otherwise fine.