"Walden Pond" Woodblock Print by Naoko Matsubara (1971)

This work was designed to serve as the wrapper for a series of 12 prints that Matsubara Naoko created in response to Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Solitude,” from his book Walden (1854). In “Solitude,” Thoreau speaks of nature as a companion. This understanding of nature as having a spirit is in line with native Japanese Shintō beliefs, which Matsubara was very familiar with through her father, a Shintō priest. The artist once lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and she visited nearby Walden Pond on several occasions during that time. Born in Japan, Matsubara went to art school in Kyoto before studying in Pittsburgh and London. Since 1971, she has been living in Ontario, Canada.