Yellow Roses (Yae yamabuki) and Creeping Saxifrages (Yukinoshita), from the series "Collection of Plants for the Kasumi Poetry Circle (Kasumi-ren somoku awase)" c. 1810s

Kubo Shunman created "Yellow Roses and Creeping Saxifrages" in Japan using woodblock print techniques. The composition immediately strikes the eye through its asymmetrical balance, juxtaposing dense clusters of yellow roses above with the sparser arrangement of creeping saxifrages below. The flowers are rendered through flat planes of color, delineated by precise outlines. Notice how the yellow and green hues interact, creating a play of light and shadow that infuses the image with a sense of vitality. This arrangement guides our eyes, but also destabilizes traditional expectations of spatial depth, flattening the scene into a decorative plane. Shunman utilizes these elements to create a structural dialogue between naturalism and abstraction. The plants are botanically recognizable, yet their arrangement and depiction emphasize formal qualities over realistic representation. The use of asymmetry, in particular, underscores the painting's engagement with the aesthetics of Japanese design. These emphasize surface and pattern, creating an artwork that is as much about the visual experience as it is about the symbolic depiction of nature.