This vibrant hand-painted artwork is an original and unique creation from Japan, dating to the Mid-Showa period (1945–1965). Measuring 12 inches by 30 inches (30 cm x 76 cm), this piece was masterfully crafted by a Japanese artist in Kyoto’s renowned Nishijin district using paint on thick paper. While the piece exhibits some minor paint cracking due to its age, it remains in very good condition and served as the essential technical template for a high-end woven obi.

The composition features a magnificent, large-scale phoenix (hō-ō) that fills the vertical field with a dramatic display of plumage. Set against a deep, midnight-black ground, the mythical bird is rendered in a kaleidoscopic palette of sky blue, lemon yellow, forest green, and fiery vermilion. The phoenix's long, undulating tail feathers sweep upward and around the body, each tipped with a stylized "eye" motif in soft lavender and peach. The artist's use of bold, saturated colors and rhythmic, curving lines captures the legendary bird in a state of celestial motion, providing a complex guide for the intricate silk weaving of the Nishijin looms.

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