In this dramatic close-up view of a single landscape element, Koson renders a timeless moment in a grove of hinoki cypresses. He depicts an atmosphere of misty space and shifting light by skillfully varying ink tones from black to gray in the leaves of frondlike branchlets. Texture and form result from applying wet ink over pale washes on the tree trunks. Koson, a pupil of the Rinpa revivalist Sakai Hōitsu (1761–1828), brought a fresh vitality to standard themes in the Rinpa repertoire, amply evident in this painting that attains a blend of decorative and realistic elements characteristic of artists of his generation.
