The watery interlude offered by the preceding kimono designs changes with 'Ryou/ The Moment of First Cold'. Here we see images of unknown rugged mountainous slopes reaching toward to a wintry sea, where a thin sheen of ice has already formed on the water. Frost lies heavy on the evergreens that sit highest on the hill, and a skim of snow falls lightly on the barren branches of a lone tree. We feel a shiver of belief in these reminders that the onslaught of winter’s icy fingers will soon encompass this unknown landscape. Such is the magic of Kubota’s masterful control of these images of color, dyeing, and ink painting that he can conjure such sensations in our minds as we contemplate his work.