This shikishi painting depicts a delicate cluster of hydrangea blossoms (ajisai, 紫陽花), rendered in soft washes of indigo, lavender, and pale violet. The artist’s restrained brushwork and subtle use of color capture both the freshness and fleeting beauty of early summer in Japan.
The composition balances the vivid cool tones of the petals with graceful gray leaves painted in sumi-e style. The result evokes a quiet, poetic atmosphere — the sense of a light rain or morning mist, a feeling often associated with hydrangeas in Japanese aesthetics.
In Japanese culture, hydrangeas symbolize heartfelt emotion, gratitude, and the changing nature of life, as their colors shift with the soil’s pH and the passing of the season. They are also a traditional motif of tsuyu (梅雨), Japan’s rainy season, celebrated in poetry and art for centuries.
Signed and sealed by the artist Hakuyō (柏洋), this piece is a serene and refined example of modern Nihonga-style floral painting on shikishi board — a perfect harmony of delicacy, seasonality, and quiet contemplation.
