Early Summer

Early summer in Kyoto arrives after the tsuyu rainy season ends and before the intense heat of July and August sets in. This oban woodblock print by Tatsuo Kawashima captures the brief period when fresh green foliage is at its most vivid, the air begins to warm, and the city's gardens reach a state of lush fullness. The title suggests a landscape scene defined by new growth rather than the flowers of spring or the dramatic colors of autumn. Kawashima's woodblock technique renders the various greens of early summer through carefully mixed pigments applied to separate blocks, distinguishing the blue-green of bamboo from the yellow-green of fresh maple leaves and the dark green of mature pine needles. This attention to the subtle differences within a single color family is one of the hallmarks of skilled color woodblock printing.