Sea in April

Edition 30 of 50, created in 1977, Sea in April captures the ocean during early spring, when winter's heavy seas begin to moderate and the water takes on the clearer, lighter qualities associated with warming temperatures. April in Japan is the month of cherry blossoms and new beginnings, and the sea reflects this transitional energy in its shifting color palette and wave patterns. Iwami's woodblock print translates the specific character of an April ocean into abstract form, using color choices and compositional rhythms tuned to the season. The spring sea differs from summer's glassy calm, autumn's gray turbulence, and winter's dark violence, and Iwami's decision to title the work by month rather than by visual description anchors the abstract image to a temporal and sensory experience that viewers in a maritime country would recognize.