OOHARANO AWAYUKI (the snow at Oohara)

This print depicts the village of Ohara, a rural settlement northeast of Kyoto in the Kitayama mountains, under a light snowfall — the awayuki of the title, thin or transient snow that settles briefly on rooftops and garden vegetation without accumulating heavily. Ohara, historically associated with thatched-roof farmhouses, the Sanzen-in temple complex, and mountain agriculture, provides Nishijima with a subject that contrasts sharply with his urban Kyoto scenes. The composition likely emphasizes the snow-laden thatch of traditional kayabuki roofs and the muted winter landscape of the Ohara valley, with the pale grays and whites of snow in gradated washes requiring precise registration across multiple blocks. The print captures the isolated, preserved quality of Ohara — a mountain village that retains an older agricultural character distinct from Kyoto proper.