About the artwork

For almost half a year, Matsunoyama is covered with snow. We welcome with joy the beautiful natural scenery that reappears when the long, long snow season is over. The wild flowers and buds on the beech trees that emerge as the snow begins to melt are a source of inspiration, joy, and contentment. We receive so many blessings from the natural environment that our ancestors left intact. Charged with my hope that we in turn preserve that precious natural heritage for the next generation, this work uses typical Matsunoyama wild flowers that bloom in spring, summer and autumn and the beech, whose foliage changes with the seasons. They are planted in a hexagonal field, which suggests the image of the snow crystal, poetically called the flower of winter.