Late autumn - Komoro Castle

Komoro Castle in Nagano survives mainly as its stone foundations and the Sannomon gate; the keep is long gone. Hashimoto's late-autumn view therefore concentrates on what is actually there -- the massive ishigaki retaining walls and the surviving gate -- set among the deciduous trees of the castle park. A late-autumn subject gives him a specific palette: the rust-orange and ochre of momiji leaves over the dark stones, with the bare upper branches of taller trees scratching the sky. The composition likely sets a strong diagonal of stonework against the softer mass of foliage, with [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations in the sky and in the receding leaves. Hashimoto's keyblock would carry the cracks and joint lines of the masonry as carved black contours. As a [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) work, every block was designed, cut, and printed by Hashimoto himself on [washi](/glossary/washi). The print is characteristic of his preference for less-celebrated castle sites and seasonal moments over the headline keeps in their summer prime.