Keisuke Serizawa produced katazome calendar folios starting with calendar year 1946. The 1946 calendar is shown in the catalogue for the 2001 exhibition of Serizawa's work held in Scotland.

These calendar sets (one page for each month) are stenciled on handmade untrimmed Japanese mulberry paper. The page size is generally 28.6 x 37.2 cm - 11 1/4 x 14 1/2 in. They usually contained in a mulberry paper sack or thick cardboard (also mulberry paper) folding case. On the front of the sack or folding case is pasted on a illustrated stenciled label with the year of the calendar. These labels are rectangular. In addition to illustrations, they contain the year and the word "Calendar" (spelled correctly).

I believe that K. Serizawa calendars can be distinguished from other similar calendar folios by Japanese characters within a hexagonal design found on the label on the sack or folding case (see "Serizawa Marks" below). However, the absence of such a mark does not mean a calendar folio was not produced by Serizawa. In some instances it is possible to attribute a calendar folio to Serizawa by notes on the sack or folding case or through inserts placed loose inside the folio. I have not identified the Serizawa mark on any individual calendar.

Serizawa calendars and other items are available for purchase and are listed below.

Serizawa Marks (Examples)
   
Found on Paste On Label on Sack or Folding Case
and Occasionally on Individual Calendars

The Japanese characters below are frequently found on textile art (not calendars) produced by Serizawa. I believe this is "Serizawa" reading the characters from right to left.

 
Here are some common characteristics I have observed regarding the Serizawa calendar folios:

• Serizawa mark appears on the sack/folding case paste-on.
• "C" in the word calendar is often (not always however) very large in relation to the rest of the letters (ie x5 larger).
• Individual calendar size: Generally - 28.6 x 37.2 cm - 11 1/4 x 14 1/2 in. The 1956 calendar is an exception.
• Sack or folding case size: Generally - 29.9 x 38.8 cm - 11 3/4 x 15 1/4 in. The 1956 calendar is an exception.
• Year appears only on the January calendar (appears not to be the case with the 1946 calendar which has no year on any of the calendar pages).
• Month appears in English on all calendars and almost always is stated in Japanese numbers incorporated into the design.

 
Confirmed Serizawa Calendar Folios

 
1946
See item 98, Serizawa, Master of Japanese Textile Design (See Below)
Size reported as 37.2 x 27.6, published in 1945
Sack or Folding Case, if any, not shown)

1952

1956 (Type I)

Regular size, longer on horizontal axis
(11 1/4 x 14 1/2 in - 28.5 x 37.5 cm)

1956 (Type II - Rectangular)

Rectangular but longer on the horizontal axis
(15 1/8 x 14 1/4 in - 28.5 x 37.1 cm)

1957

1958 (Type I)

1958 (Type II)

1960

No Serizawa mark but sometimes accompanied by note.

1960 - "Yanase Auto Tokyo"

No Serizawa mark but accompanied by note.

1961

1961 - "Shinwa Trading Co. LTD, Tokyo & Osaka"

1962

1963

No Serizawa mark but sack has label.

1965

1967

1968

"K.S" and Serizawa Mark on Folder
Serizawa mark found on January and July calendars

1969

1970 (different color cover paste-ons)

No Serizawa mark but accompanied by note.

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1980

1984

"Serizawa"

 
Source Not Confirmed

 
1959

Reported to be Serizawa

1963

1964 (Type I)

Reported to be Serizawa

1964 (Type II)

1966

Reported to be Serizawa

1967

1971

1979

Probably Serizawa

Keisuke Serizawa (1895-1984)

In 1956 Serizawa was designated by the Government of Japan as a "Living National Treasure" (intangible cultural asset) for his "Mingei" (folk art) work using hand-stenciled dyeing (katazome) techniques. Serizawa visited Okinawa several times and learned the famed Ryukyu bingata method of stencil dyeing. His first visit was in 1938 where he studied bingata techniques under Katatsue-ya in Naha. He carried this traditional technique into his folk art work. Okinawan designs are frequently seen in his work. In addition, Serizawa merged Chinese floral dyeing methods and South Pacific batik methods into his work. Serizawa's works cover an wide field. His designs were reproduced for use as book cover illustrations, and newspaper and magazine illustrations. His folk art applications included kimono and obi cloth, paper prints, wall hangings/scrolls, folding screens, curtains, fans, shochibubai (pine, bamboo and plum blossoms hangings considered to bring good luck) and calendars. A unique feature of his work has been described in these terms:

The distinguishing trait of Serizawa's katazome method is the use of the starch mixture to create, not a colored area as is current in direct-dyeing process, but a blank, undyed one that forms a part of the pattern and that can later be colored by hand in multi-color or monochrome as the designer sees fit. Keisuke Serizawa, the Stencil Artist, Volume 1, 1967

It is my understanding that the stencil dyeing procedures are:

• Using a stencil, areas to be left uncolored are covered with a dye resistant starch paste (nori tsuke).
• Colors are then applied by dipping or brushing, generally from lighter to darker colors. Serizawa generally used traditional vegetable dyes and seldom used chemical dyes.
• After these colors have dried, the key design (key stencil) is used to apply the main design (iro sashi).
• The paste is washed off (mizu ari) and the material dried in the sun (harika).

An interesting aspect of this process is the use of every day items. For example, the dye resistant paste was generally made from boiled rice (combined with lime). The inks (generally vegetable dyes), particularly black were mixed with tofu water, a by-product in the making of curd from soy beans, to give richer color and indelibility.

Serizawa was a leading member of the Mingei (folk craft) movement founded in 1926 by Soetsu Yanagi, Shoji Hamada and Kanjiro Kawai. The Serizawa Keisuke Art and Craft Museum at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai has a large and specialized collection of his work. The Mingei International Museum of Folk Art located in in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, has an important collection of works by Serizawa. Serizawa also donated several items to the museum which were not his own works but of important cultural significance.

Serizawa Calendars. For information on Serizawa calendar folios, click here.

Serizawa Books: In Keisuke Serizawa it is stated that:

Keisuke Serizawa has produced numerous masterpieces in illustrated books sometimes in Japanese and other times in contemporary western style, including Don Quixote, Vincent Van Gogh, A Day at Mashiko, Ainu Art and Butsuge (poems of Soetsu Yangi). Over three hundred limited editions reveal his vast knowledge of human psychology as well as of the natural world and are highly prized among collectors. 1979 Mingei Catalogue at page 9.

Despite the fact that numerous books were apparently produced, they are illusive. I am aware of the following books.

• 1948, Landscapes of Okinawa. For more information on this book, click here.

• 1943, Ryukyu no Katatsuki (Ryukyuan Prints), Kyoto, Kyoto Shoin, 15 pages with printed cloth samples, 8 photographic illustrations, 11 illustrations of paper stencils, 13 drawings of the textile printing process 67 pages of text.

• 1961, Haruo Sato.

Books with Serizawa Covers/Art Work:

• 1934, Lafcadio Hearn, Letters from Shimane and Kyushu, Kyoto, The Sunward Press, 1934, limited edition of 100 numbered copies privately printed for Dr. Sanki Ichikawa, laid paper, 8vo, 71 pp. Cover is a stenciled design by Keisuke Serizawa.

• 1952, Tindale, Thomas K. & Harriet R., Handmade Papers of Japan, Rutland, Tuttle, 4 volumes. Preface by Dard Hunter. Eight endpapers with stencil illustrations by Keisuke Serizawa.

• 1964, Haruo Sato, Bunka no Hangyaku (Revolt of Cultures), published in the Geise Shimbun.

Exhibition Catalogues:

• 1967, Keisuke Serizawa, The Stencil Artist, Volume 1, Tokyo, Tsukiji Shokan Publishing Company, Ltd, distributed by the Maruzen Co., Ltd, 1967, large 8vo (9 x 11 1/2 in - 22.8 x 29.2 cm), gilt decoration on covers and gilt lettering on spine, 92 images of Serizawa's work (12 color and 80 black and white), photograph of Serizawa, unpaginated. For more information on this book, click here.

• 1976, Serizawa, Paris, Grand Palis, 24 x 24 cm, soft cover, 122 pages. Exhibition of Serizawa art from November 23, 1976 - February 14, 1977.
   
  
• 1979, Keisuke Serizawa & Martha Longenecker, Keisuke Serizawa, La Jolla, CA, Mingei International Museum of Wold Folk Art, oblong 8vo (9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in - 24 x 21.5 cm), soft covers, frontispiece photograph of Keisuke Serizawa, numerous color and black and white photographic illustrations, 46 pp. Catalogue for an exhibition of Serizawa's art held at the Mingei Museum from June 23 to October 14, 1979. Includes an illustrated discussion of the artist's stencil art techniques. Also includes a detailed "Biographical Notes" section on Serizawa. The catalogue lists all exhibits and pictures several, many full page and in color. Items include images for the artist's illustrated books, kimonos, obis, screens and norens (curtains).
  Available - 1979 Mingei Museum Exhibit Catalogue- Purchase Here

• 2001, Serizawa, Master of Japanese Textile Design, Sendai, Japan, Tohoku Fukushi University, Serizawa Keisuke Art and Craft Museum, 2001, oblong 8vo (9 1/2 x 10 in), illustrated stiff paper wraps, illustrated dust jacket, 190+ items pictured in color, Japanese and English text, 133 pp. A catalogue for an exhibition of Keisuke Serizawa's work held August 11 through November 4, 2001 in the National Museums of Scotland. The exhibition items are followed by a biography (chronological listing of key events in Serizawa's life), an essay on "The Art of Serizawa Keisuke" by Hamada Shukuko, an essay on the "Kataezome Technique" and a "List of Works" where each of the 191 numbered items pictured are discussed in more detail including the year produced. A comprehensive illustrated presentation of Serizawa's work spanning all formats including kimono, obi, noren, screens, calendars (1946 calendar shown), stenciled paper (The Great Market in Naha City, Okinawa is shown), wall hangings, scrolls, book type illustrated stories, magazine covers, book covers and cases and paintings on glass. Includes messages from Mark Jones, Sir Hugh Cortazzi, Lord Blackenham, His Excellency Hayashi Sadayui and Serizawa Chosuke. ISBN 4-901459-06-6

Serizawa Katazome  Calendar Folios
  1956 Calendar Folio - Available Here - Folding Case
  1961 Calendar Folio - Available Here - Sack
  1961 Calendar Folio - Available Here - "Shinwa Trading Co." - Folding Case
  1963 Calendar Folio - Available Here
  1965 Calendar Folio - Available Here - Sack
  1967 Calendar Folio - Available Here - Folding Case

Katazome Calendar Folios
 (Source Unknown)
  1968 Calendar Folio - Available Here - Folding Case
  1971 Calendar Folio - Available Here - Sack
  1979 Calendar Folio - Available Here - Folding Case

Miscellaneous Works on Paper (Probably K. Serizawa)
  Fuji & NY Theme - 13 x 17 in - Available Here
  Castle & Buildings - 13 x 17 1/4 in  - Available Here
  Children of the Snow - 4 x 5 7/7 in - Available Here
  
Wall Hangings (On Cloth)
  Aesops Fables, Dark Blue Background, Large Wall Hanging - Available Here
  Phonetic Alphabet, Wall Hanging - Large - Available Here
  Phonetic Alphabet, Wall Hanging - Small/Mounted - Available Here
  Kilms of North-Eastern Japan, Wall Hanging - Available Here

Book Covers with Serizawa Art
  Shoki Otsu-e (Early Otsu-e), Mingei Sosho, Dai 2 - hen 
  (Folk Arts Series, No. 2) - Available Here

  Ryukyu no Toki (Ceramics of the Ryukyu Islands), 
  Folk-crafts Series, No. IV - Available Here

  Mingei to Seikatsu (Folk Arts and Life) - Available Here