HARUMEKU (look like spring)

"Harumeku" — to look like spring, to begin showing the signs of spring — captures the transitional moment when winter's austerity begins giving way to spring's abundance, not yet fully arrived but unmistakably announced. Nishijima renders this threshold moment in a traditional townscape that shows signs of seasonal turning: perhaps the first buds on a tree visible above a roofline, or a quality of light slightly warmer than winter's pale illumination. His seasonal sensitivity allows him to render not just the peak moments but the transitional states between seasons.