Kotori no Kuru Hi (The Pretty Bird)

Author: Chihiro Iwasaki; Idea: Yasoo Takeichi; Shiko-sha, 1972
This story depicts the evolution of a girl’s wish to have a small bird, interweaving her imagination and imagined scenes. Chihiro mainly used the technique called Mokkotsu-ho found in Chinese-style landscape paintings to define the subject's form, using a mass of ink (in this case, watercolor paints) instead of an outline. She also used the Tarashikomi technique, in which another color is dropped into a painting before it has dried, creating a complex blurring effect. Chihiro received the Graphic Prize Fiera di Bologna in 1973 for this work.