MOMIJIGARI

Momijigari — literally "maple viewing" or "hunting for autumn foliage" — refers both to the Japanese seasonal practice of viewing turning maple leaves and to a kabuki dance-play of the same name in which the hero Taira no Koremochi encounters a noblewoman in the mountains who is revealed as a demon. Executed in woodblock rather than Takahashi Hiromitsu's characteristic kappazuri technique, this print works within the established meisho-e tradition of sites celebrated for seasonal beauty while potentially drawing on the theatrical narrative. Autumn foliage subjects offered printmakers an opportunity for rich chromatic effects — the red, orange, and yellow of momiji (Japanese maple) set against darker ground tones or pale sky. Woodblock bokashi gradations could render the diffuse light of the autumn mountain setting, distinguishing this work from the flat stencil passages found elsewhere in Takahashi's output.