An apple-tree in blossom

A study of an apple tree in flower, treated through the bold linear vocabulary that defined Hiratsuka Un'ichi's mature mokuhanga practice. Such tree subjects allowed him to exploit the natural rhythm of branch structure against negative ground, with carved white blossoms emerging from inked black masses or, conversely, dark branch silhouettes against unprinted [washi](/glossary/washi). The image likely employs the chisel-driven carving style Hiratsuka developed after the 1930s, where the gouge stroke itself becomes a visible compositional element rather than a means to imitate brushwork. Botanical subjects formed a recurring strand within his much larger output of architectural and landscape prints, and they reflect the [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) principle—articulated through his teaching at the Nihon Hanga Kyokai—that even modest natural motifs warranted the artist's full self-carved, self-printed treatment. Apple blossom in particular sits within a broader Japanese visual tradition of seasonal flowering trees, here translated from the colored decorative idiom of [nishiki-e](/glossary/nishiki-e) into the austere monochrome graphic language Hiratsuka championed across more than three thousand prints.