Winter sky
- Medium:
- Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
- Image courtesy of
- Saru Gallery
A reductive atmospheric study consistent with Kasamatsu's lifelong interest in weather as primary subject. The title implies that the sky, rather than any landmark, carries the composition, a frequent strategy in his work and one that distinguishes him from [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) peers more committed to identifiable meisho. Several [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations laid in succession across the upper register would establish the cold, layered light of a winter afternoon, each pass requiring careful registration to preserve graded transitions without banding. Sparse foreground elements, likely silhouetted trees, rooflines, or distant hills, would anchor the composition without competing with the sky. Prints of this kind from his post-war Unsodo period often carry a [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) sensibility within shin-hanga production techniques, since Kasamatsu increasingly oversaw the carving and printing himself rather than relying entirely on the publisher's craftsmen.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Winter sky was created by Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪).
Winter sky depicts winter.
