- Mt.Daisetsu in twilight - 90x72cm 2005 (Kami Furano)

  I painted Mt.Daisetsu again in late autumn from Senbo Pass. This was the time when the coloured leaves were mostly gone and the larch's leaves started to change colour, and Mt. Daisetsu and Mt. Tokachi Peaks were beginning to be covered with snow. The air current must have been fast, because I heard a noise from above. The flocks of swans were making V shapes and were flying towards the south in the cobalt blue sky.

  I could hear grasshoppers from a bank of dead grass nearby. The first time I thought I had misheard, but I was not mistaken. A few days ago there had been the first snow falls and there were a few mornings with heavy frost. This weather would be midwinter if this was Tokyo. I walked a few meters towards the sound, and then the grasshopper stopped chirping. Then another one made a noise in another place. It seemed like there were a few grasshoppers there. I aimed towards one on the bank where there were less weeds and climbed up there. It became quiet. I tried to turn out a grasshopper. I saw the first one, on a road walking, and it chirped away. I jumped down the bank and tried to touch it but it slowly moved away. It stopped chirping to save itself, but started up again for its company.

  The next day it snowed about 30 cm or so suddenly. The bank grasshoppers were making noises under the snow. I had thought about bringing the grasshoppers inside the house, but the snow decided for me. I think the grasshoppers were happy there anyway.