Sleet is coming

A weather subject — the moment before sleet begins to fall — is rendered in titles like this with the immediacy of a haiku. Hagiwara's multi-block method, with its capacity to build up dense, translucent atmospheric grounds, suits the muted, leaden palette of imminent winter precipitation. Each block carved from cherry or magnolia wood and hand-printed with the baren onto absorbent washi can contribute a thin layer of color, the cumulative effect approximating the visible thickness of low cloud and chilled air. As a sosaku-hanga printmaker, Hagiwara designed, carved, and printed his own blocks, allowing him to push registration and inking choices in ways that the divided ukiyo-e workshop could not. Weather and atmosphere subjects appear throughout his work alongside the abstract Stone Garden and gemstone series, both rooted in his upbringing in the mountainous geology of Yamanashi Prefecture at the base of Mount Fuji.