House in a grove

A house partially concealed within a grove of trees, where architecture and nature interpenetrate in characteristic Tanaka fashion. The etching and aquatint technique allows him to render the dappled light filtering through branches and the soft transition from leafy canopy to built structure with tonal gradations that woodblock printing could not achieve. From 1966, this is an early work that already demonstrates his sensitivity to the sheltered, hidden quality of rural Japanese dwellings.