Tree Stump (Kirikabu)

A tree stump — kirikabu in Japanese — is rendered as the sole subject of this 1963 woodblock, the cut surface's concentric rings and weathered outer bark given the same formal attention as a temple architectural detail. The stump subject is characteristically Hiratsuka: finding monumental quality in an overlooked object, treating decay and cutting as subjects worthy of serious printmaking. The stump's former height is implied by its absence.