• Kikusui (chrysanthemum and water) is the family crest of the 14th-century samurai Kusunoki Masashige, famous for his loyalty to the Japanese emperor and historically worshipped as a national war hero. For this reason, variations of his family crest became a traditional motif in Japan. Kikusui was used as a symbol for the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy in the period before 1945, the end of World War II.

• Ide became obsessed with the kikusui motif in the early 1970s, when she was active in New York City. According to friends, her apartment contained hundreds of paintings and prints of chrysanthemums. It is not known why the artist was so drawn to this motif.

• Ide received a commission from Associated American Artists (AAA) to produce two prints. Kikusui I was one of them. AAA was an art gallery and business based in New York City, which made art accessible to a wide range of collectors through mail-order catalogs and department store displays.

• The artist died in 1975 under conditions suggesting an act of ritualistic suicide, in the manner of a samurai (Japanese warrior).

Art Byte Video (English):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya1bWZxxGAY&list=PLomCAbZhq1TjimSYb_9ONSXhVgb3wzb8K&index=50
Art Byte Video (Japanese): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky_kcDOUaMA&list=PLomCAbZhq1TjimSYb_9ONSXhVgb3wzb8K&index=51
Art Byte Video (Spanish): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDKbF8QIUIY&list=PLomCAbZhq1TjimSYb_9ONSXhVgb3wzb8K&index=49