Lanterns and Red Maples

Lanterns and Red Maples develops the same autumn theme as the companion Lanterns and Maples print, perhaps with a specific emphasis on the deeper red end of the maple color spectrum. The kōyō — autumn foliage — season was among the most celebrated in Japanese aesthetic tradition, and the combination of red maple leaves with the warm glow of lanterns captured both the natural beauty of the season and the human ritual of seasonal celebration. Yoshida's treatment of the theme reflects his deep understanding of the Japanese aesthetic categories he inhabited even as he simultaneously sought to move beyond them.