Autumn — 秋づく

A stand of trees shifts toward the rusted oranges, burnt yellows, and fading greens of the autumn season. Sano's 1999 oban woodblock print isolates a moment of seasonal transition, when the canopy has not yet fully turned but the underlying warmth has begun to overtake summer's dominance. Individual leaves are not rendered; instead, the foliage reads as broad tonal masses layered through successive printings. The palette is restrained to earthy tones that avoid the saturated reds typical of autumn imagery, giving the scene a muted, contemplative quality closer to mid-October than peak viewing season. The Japanese subtitle (秋づく) suggests the onset of autumn rather than its climax.