HARUMEKU (Like Spring)

Harumeku (春めく) is a verb meaning to take on the qualities of spring — to become spring-like — and refers to that transitional moment in late winter when warmth, light, and color begin to assert themselves before the season fully arrives. Nishijima's print on this subject likely captures a scene of architectural and natural transition: bare branches showing the first swelling of buds, pale sunlight warming the surfaces of timber buildings, and a sky color shifting from the cold grays of winter toward the softer blues and whites of spring. The palette would be restrained, favoring the soft warm tones of anticipation rather than the full color of spring's peak. This thematic subject connects Nishijima's work to the Japanese aesthetic concept of ma — the significance of the in-between state — and to the poetic attention to seasonal transitions (kisetsukan) that runs throughout Japanese cultural practice. Architecturally, the scene would likely focus on a familiar lane or garden wall, the setting unchanged but illuminated differently by the returning light.