Kawanishi Hide(1894-1965) Kawanishi, who lived and worked through-out his career in the port city of Kobe, is an exception among sosaku hanga artists, most of whom have gravitated towards Tokyo. His work, which is noted for its strong, almost jarring use of color is distinctive also. The colors are seldom modulated and never out-lined; in fact, Kawanishi purposely softened the edges of his forms by using a round chisel rather than a knife to carve the contours. He used poster colors, which he never mixed, and treated black as "just another color." He came from a merchant class back-ground and took up a career in art over his family's objections. He was entirely self-taught. Ref: Jenkins, Donald, "Images of a Changing world, Japanese Prints of the Twentieth Century" Portland Art Museum 1983-84 Exhibition catalog.