Late Autumn at Yachi in Towadako National Park

Autumn foliage at Yachi in Towadako National Park provides the subject for this oban woodblock print. Ito Takashi captures the late-season color of deciduous trees, their leaves turned to reds, oranges, and golds against the evergreen backdrop of the Tohoku region's forests. The Towada-Hachimantai area in northern Honshu was renowned for its autumn spectacle, and Ito traveled there to record the specific chromatic intensity that distinguishes late autumn from its earlier, more uniformly green stages. The woodblock medium's ability to layer transparent pigments allows for the optical mixing of warm tones that gives autumn foliage prints their characteristic luminosity. By specifying the location as Yachi within the larger national park, Ito maintains the meisho tradition of naming precise viewpoints within celebrated scenic regions.