'The sap is rising' is an often heard description of early spring. With higher temperatures, trees become flush with water and start spreading sugar to their twigs, supplying the energy needed to grow new shoots and leaves. When cutting into the stem or branch of certain trees on a spring day, one may see sap dripping from the cut end, almost like a bleeding wound. 'The sap is rising' is also an expression used to describe the process in which people start to have more energy and feel more interested in love and sex.

The woodland greens and browns of the painting reference nature and its renewal (Spring). For Nishiyama, renewal is connected to fertility, intended not only as growth in nature but also as motherhood, sexuality. At the centre of the canvas, the lone figure of an alluring goddess with swamp-like features – almost merging with the background – suggests this connection between humans and the natural world.