In the snow on Yanagibashi 1927

Ohara Koson made this print, 'In the snow on Yanagibashi', using woodblocks, and what I love about woodblock prints is how the process is so clear. You can see it in the flat planes of colour, and the way lines are used for definition, like how a child might draw. Here, the dark blues and purples of the figures are contrasted by the expanse of white, but what I find more interesting is how the composition is built up through small marks. Look at the hundreds of tiny white flecks which make up the falling snow. Each one is a tiny mark, like a pointillist painting, but together they create a feeling of depth. It’s almost like looking at an Agnes Martin grid, but here, the lines are created through the accumulation of marks. This reminds me of other Japanese artists like Hokusai, who also embrace flatness and graphic qualities to create atmospheric prints that capture a particular sense of place. Just like Koson, the goal is not realism, but something more ethereal.