Spring

Spring, printed in 1976 using ink and color on paper, presents a seasonal subject that allowed Hashimoto to introduce the lighter palette of warming months into his predominantly cool architectural compositions. Spring in Japan meant the cherry blossom — sakura — and the return of soft light and fresh color to gardens and landscapes he had previously depicted in the austerity of winter or the clear light of summer. The season's transitional quality may have appealed to him as an opportunity to explore architectural subjects in a different chromatic register.