a barren temple complex, suggesting the arduousness of his journey during the peak of winter. Common to Sesshū's paintings, the single figure is surrounded by a towering landscape that draws on the concept of mono no aware, humankind being present with nature, to create a secluding atmosphere. Throughout the composition, Sesshū uses the shumpo technique, varying the firmness and thickness of outlines to depict three-dimensionality and textures. This modelling is enhanced by the diluted ink washes and rendering using fine lines. In the foreground, the rocks and trees show weighted, dark lines whilst the left distant mountains are outlined against the grey sky with a single brushstroke to capture the moment. The intensity of Sesshū’s work is shown by the sharp, angular brushstrokes in the centre, reflecting Zen Buddhism's influence. Similarly, he uses ink wash for the rolling mist to divide the space between solid and void, mirroring the Taoist metaphysical concept of tension between subjects. This is heightened by the sharp diagonals of the opposing foreground rocks as they bring a sense of inescapable, pent up energy. The background features a single, strong, lightning-like brushstroke that outlines the central cliffs as the tip vanishes into the mist, suggesting transitory moments in time, as believed in Zen Buddhism. Overall, Winter Landscape represents Sesshū's stylistic choices and implementation of Zen Buddhist concepts, notably drawing on Chinese landscapes that symbolised a virtuous man’s dedication to remaining honourable during strenuous moments. Four Landscape Scrolls of the Seasons (c. 1420–1506) Painted at 67 years old, Sesshū Tōyō's Four Landscape Scrolls of the Seasons (c. 1420–1506) depicts the flow of the four seasons whilst reflecting on his experiences with Japanese and Chinese landscapes. Each scroll is composed of two silk strips as the paintings were originally screen panels, but were later arranged on a single kakemono. Despite depicting the seasons sequentially as Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter, the Autumn scroll is distinctively different. From Sesshū's travels, Autumn holds a dominating Chinese stylistic influence. For example, Sesshū's use of the Chinese technique progressive vision, where using several viewpoints creates an image more accurate to one's experience with nature, suggesting a synthesis of time and pace. Sesshū's treatment of pine needles aligns with the method of sung-yeh-tien whilst the dotted leaves mirror ku-chiao-tien (black-pepper-dots), which were techniques shared by Chinese artists before Sesshū. Within this painting, Sesshū reduces proportions as the space recedes whilst placing distant objects higher in the composition.