Stone Garden

This print represents the famous stone garden of Ryoanji, a Zen temple in Kyoto. Several rocks are situated in a sea of white gravel; an adobe wall with a tiled roof isolates the garden from the outside world. By creating a strong simple composition, the artist got to the core of the scene.

This renowned garden was constructed in the early seventeenth century. Its beauty resides in the design of the landscape, which consists of stones set in a perfectly flat plot of ground. Its simplicity inspired many early-twentieth-century artists in the making of their "creative prints" (sosaku hanga).

Although his prints often seem abstract, Sekino stated that he did not aim to produce nonrepresentational art. Rather, he discovered his personal idiom in the use of sharp, clear forms and lines. Sekino's works include portraits, landscapes, and still lifes whose style became more and more simplified during the course of his career.