Sarobetsu Wild flower

The Sarobetsu Plain is a coastal wetland in northern Hokkaido, known for expansive summer wildflower blooms — particularly nikko-kisuge (yellow daylilies), ezo-kanzo, and various marsh species that flower across its peat bogs from June through August. The print falls within the kacho-e (bird-and-flower) tradition, though placed within a specific named landscape rather than treated as an isolated botanical study. Sekino traveled extensively within Japan and frequently anchored his prints to particular regional locations; Sarobetsu, lying north of Wakkanai near the Sea of Japan coast, sits at the geographic edge of the country. Wildflower subjects in mokuhanga lend themselves to flat planes of saturated color for petals set against more muted, bokashi-graduated grounds suggesting sky or distant terrain. As a sosaku-hanga printmaker, Sekino cut and printed his own blocks on washi, integrating the regional landscape interest of his Tokaido work with the natural-subject focus of his floral studies.