All the characters featured in this print have taken me on magical journeys into new worlds. Sometimes I get a little sad when real life feels so mundane by comparison. But if I approach life with curiosity, there is beauty and magic to be found everywhere. The brilliant blue sky of summer. The delicate green of spring leaves. The golden sunsets of winter. These things might feel commonplace, but they are beautiful gifts if we take the time to appreciate them!

This print is also inspired by the historic backstreets of Kyoto. If you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend it! The entire city is a beautiful wonderland to explore. Ancient temples, historic houses and cobblestone streets. It just feels so... Japanese!

This piece was done in a modern shin-hanga style, which was dominant in the early 1900s at the peak of Japanese woodblock technique. Shin-hanga prints are known for their atmospheric realism, and require many dozens of impressions with hand-carved wood blocks. It was a ton of work to make those prints, but the low yen compared to higher valued European currencies in the early 1900s made it economically viable.