SHIMOTSUKI (frost month - November

Shimotsuki — the eleventh lunar month, now associated with November — translates literally as "frost month," the period when overnight temperatures first drop below freezing and morning frost appears on rooftiles and garden stones. Nishijima's print of this subject would render the year's late-autumn transition: bare or nearly bare branches, the last persimmons hanging against grey sky, the surfaces of traditional buildings darkened by cold moisture. His color harmonies in cold-season subjects tend toward muted ochres, slate greys, and the pale straw tones of dried grasses. The compositional mood would be quiet and slightly melancholic, consistent with Japanese seasonal aesthetics that find beauty in the approach of winter.