Flowers and Figures No. 6

Although Hashimoto is principally identified with architectural subjects, his oeuvre includes figurative work, and Flowers and Figures appears to be a numbered series combining floral motifs with human subjects. Number 6 in the sequence suggests a sustained exploration of the relationship between bodies and botanical forms — a tradition in Japanese printmaking that includes both classical bijin-ga and the kacho-e flower-and-bird genre, here adapted to the formal vocabulary of sosaku-hanga. Where ukiyo-e masters of the Edo period placed figures within decorative environments, Hashimoto's modernist treatment likely flattens space and emphasizes silhouette, with figures and flowers occupying the same compositional plane. The print demonstrates the breadth of his practice within the creative-print movement, where artists were expected to design, carve, and pull every impression themselves, working on washi and applying pigment through the hand pressure of a baren rather than mechanical means.