Sadao Watanabe

This hand-colored stencil print on mulberry paper of Christ carrying the Cross was a personal favorite of Japanese Graphic Artist Sadao Watanabe. In a culture that had earlier embraced the compassionate teachings of Buddhism, Japanese converts to Christianity were drawn to the image of a God who suffered alongside them rather than the remote and judgmental Father God of the Western Christian tradition. Adapting a cloth-dying technique from the Okinawan Islands using hand-cut stencils and resist paste to make images on paper, Watanabe masterfully creates a Japanese vision of Christ, the God who has humbled himself to become man, falling to his knees under the weight of the Cross he has chosen to bear on his shoulders to redeem humanity. There is a hauntingly wistful and tender expression on Christ's understated, mask-like features. This Japanese Jesus gracefully turns his broken body to look back at those who are sending him to his death with both sorrow and forgiveness. His arm is draped over the upright beam of his means of execution, transformed with decorative patterns by this one-time designer of kimonos into an object of beauty. Divine love triumphs over hate in a scene of surprising harmony and tranquility. (John Kohan)