Green Leaves

Green Leaves (midori no ha or similar) situates this print in early summer, the season of fresh foliage that follows the cherry blossoms in Japan's seasonal calendar. For Nishijima, a subject focused on green leaves would likely use the abundance of new growth to frame or partially obscure a traditional architectural subject — the dense canopy of a maples or zelkova overhanging a lane, or the courtyard garden of a machiya glimpsed through foliage. The technical challenge of rendering multiple greens — the yellow-greens of new growth against the deeper tones of mature leaves — would require several color blocks, each contributing to the layered depth of the tree canopy. Washi paper's absorbency allows pigment to sit with a softness that suits the translucency of backlit leaves. The composition likely employs a vertical orientation to accommodate the height of trees relative to the architecture they frame, with the print's middle ground occupied by filtered light and the latticed surfaces of wooden buildings visible between branches.