Kawase Hasui, Moon at Umagome

Notes: This design was used for the cover image of the Hotei catalog: Kawase Hasui - The Complete Woodblock Prints. Narazaki notes: "This scene conveys the rustic 'poetic' charm of Umagome, the area where Hasui lived. A scene after a rain, the trunks of a few ancient pines are magnified, a clear, full moon is spied through their branches - the entire picture is conceived as if the dark blue sky and land are one. A light shines in the window of a thatch-roofed farmhouse. The contrast between the light of the circular moon and that of the small rectangular window is skillful indeed. This work is generally acknowledged as a masterpiece among the artist's nocturnal scenes.