This vibrant hand-painted watercolor is an original and distinctive artwork from Japan, dating to the Late Taisho to Early Showa period (1920–1940). Measuring 20 inches by 17 inches (51 cm x 43 cm), this piece was meticulously created to serve as a high-fidelity template for yūzen resist-dye work on a silk kimono. The artwork remains in very good condition and demonstrates a sophisticated blend of organic floral realism and geometric abstraction characteristic of the "Taisho Roman" style.
The composition is set against a deep, velvety indigo-purple ground, which is traversed by large, diagonal diamond-shaped panels in a warm ochre-yellow. Within these panels, the artist has rendered lush, multi-petaled peonies and carnations in shades of coral, terracotta, and soft lavender, accented by fresh sage-green leaves. The edges of the ochre panels are softened with dense red stippling, while the dark background spaces are punctuated by delicate, lace-like floral crests made entirely of fine white dots. This combination of bold color blocking and minute stippling reflects the technical precision required for the complex layering of pre-war yūzen dyeing.