Autumn Scene

This oban woodblock print presents an autumn scene where the changing foliage provides the primary subject matter and emotional register. Domoto's Nihonga training, with its emphasis on careful observation of nature and mastery of mineral pigments, informs his approach to the autumn palette even when working in the woodblock medium. The warm reds, oranges, and golds of turning leaves are juxtaposed against the cooler tones of sky, water, or evergreen trees, creating the seasonal contrast that makes autumn the most visually dramatic time in the Japanese landscape. The print captures the brief, intense window when foliage color peaks before the leaves fall, a transience that connects the image to the Buddhist concept of mujo (impermanence) that runs through Japanese aesthetic philosophy.