Kitaoka's respect for his subject is evident as this woman bears her heavy load of kombu. This scene is certainly set in Hokkaidō which produces almost all of Japan's crop.  Dated 1967, this print was originally printed in 1959 and is a fine example of Kitaoka's wood engraving (end-grain engraving) and monochrome work which he largely abandoned in the 1960s in favor of more colorful prints using the more traditional woodblock technique of cutting along the wood grain. The paper, as in his earlier monochrome work, is mica impregnated and the black pigment he uses has a bright sheen.