Artist's commentary
Herald of Spring
A thank-you gift from Takasugi Shinsaku.
Plum flowers and autumn leaves from Tougyou-an, the temple where Shinsaku was laid to rest. It is located on a mountain which once served as the Kiheitai's home base. Tougyou, meaning "eastbound," was Shinsaku's sobriquet, and there is a poem which reads, "Only God knows the depths of my heart, for while I yearn for you as you go west, I am bound for the east."
I'm fond of plum flowers. Why, you ask? Well, they bloom first, before all the other flowers.
As for the red leaves... I just felt like it.
Anyway, let's make all the flowers bloom, not just one of them. That's right, we'll do it together.

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