Spring breezes, reading Kikuchi Tomoki’s "Sakura Boat" and other works

Tomoki Kikuchi's hand-painted ink art beautifully captures the charm of all things in nature. This "Sakura Boat" has an irresistible pink hue.

This Japanese autographed picture book shows a few small animals on these petals. Let's guess what they are!

"Sakura Boat" by Tomoki Kikuchi, Japanese edition (さくらのふね) autographed picture book.

Ladybugs, bees, butterflies...

Using tiny lives to achieve the grandeur of time and space

Ladybugs, bees, and butterflies are light and small, riding on fallen cherry blossoms, drifting down the river. Cherry blossom petals, ladybugs, bees, and butterflies are all extremely fragile and tiny life forms.

Yet, Tomoki Kikuchi, through both composition and book format (continuous spreads), evokes a sense of immense grandeur of life.

Almost all of Tomoki Kikuchi's picture books feature continuous spreads, consistently bringing new感動 to readers.

Continuous spreads are challenging in both printing and binding, but Tomoki Kikuchi's "willfulness" brings so much delight to readers.

I deeply admire Taiwanese original picture book author Qiu Chengzong. When discussing his creative philosophy for ecological picture books, he once said that he views nature as a stage where all living things perform their stories, and life, in its cyclical renewal, unfolds upon it.

This perspective also leads me to observe how authors design their natural stages and tell their stories when reading various nature-themed picture books. "Sakura Boat" can be seen as an adventurous journey for the ladybug and its friends.

Through their adventures, like a long shot in a movie, you can enter the scenery of the mountains and fields. And what color is spring, after all? Green, yellow, pink, and purple. Who laid down these soft, warm colors? It doesn't say.

However, we can guess it's these "little ones." Although they are tiny, they are doing great things! Bees, butterflies, and ladybugs are all little helpers in spreading pollen! And the colors of spring rely on the adventurous journey of these insect friends to make the world so colorful and vibrant!

Who is small, who is big? You can't guess now, can you?

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Seasonal Symbols in Patterns and Forms

When depicting seasonal plant forms, Tomoki Kikuchi uses abstract lines and color blocks to create patterns.

Can you guess the origin of these seasonal patterns on the covers and endpapers of "Sakura Boat" and "Maple Leaf Letter Before Winter"?

Color Usage

Tomoki Kikuchi masterfully handles various colors with the freedom of ink wash painting. Whether it's the black and white of "Black Cat, White Cat" or the different shades of pink in "Sakura Boat."

Even in different works, colors evoke different emotions in readers.

For example, in "Maple Leaf Letter Before Winter," various forms of autumn red—maple leaves, mushrooms, camellias, viburnum berries, fox bodies—each have their own unique posture. Maple leaves, whether a single one or an entire mountain of them, are presented differently.

Reading the red in "Maple Leaf Letter Before Winter" seems to bring forth a rustling sound.

It's the same red, but in "Little Tiger, Son of Tiger," I saw it convey a completely different feeling! "Little Tiger, Son of Tiger" was one of Tomoki Kikuchi's works from the Year of the Tiger a few years ago. The little tiger in the story always followed its mother. The tiger mother was a very skilled hunter, but the little tiger was always afraid and couldn't be as good as its mother.

The red in "Little Tiger, Son of Tiger" awakens the wildness within us humans—we are all cowards.

The red in "Little Tiger, Son of Tiger" awakens the wildness within humans. Just now, I was laughing at the little tiger's cowardly, unlucky, droopy-browed appearance. But reading this, I can see that one day it will be a terrifying predator, and I have always been a super timid, utterly cowardly prey, a human at the bottom of the food chain!

Which red do you prefer?

Today, we journey together from the pink mist of "Sakura Boat" to the wild red of "Little Tiger, Son of Tiger." If you want to experience the true feeling and poetry of cherry blossoms this spring, come to Jingjing San Yi and join the collection!

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