Artist: Kawase Hasui
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan
Edition: S. Watanabe Seal
Date: 1932
Publisher: S. Watanabe Color Print Co.
Reference No.: Hotei #291
Size: 15 -1/2 x 10 -1/2 "
Condition: Very fine
Notes:
As described by Narazaki: 'The simple compositional forms in this piece are only natural given that this is a snowscape. But it differs from Hasui's work to date. The three-dimensional arrangement of the rock and the soft, curvilinear lines of the temple building, pine tree and ripples on the water add to the design-oriented sense of this print. Perhaps it was Hasui's about-face to the limits of realism, but it can be seen as a new attempt in the search for a fluent style.
The 260 islands of Matsushima Bay, are collectively considered one of the "Three Most Scenic Spots of Japan." Even legendary haiku poet Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) struggled to describe the beauty he encountered here on the coast of Miyagi Prefecture in Tohoku. The other two beauty spots of Japan consist of Amanohashidate and Itsukushima.
The series, A Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, consisted of twenty-five landscape images designed from 1932 to 1936. The series title does not appear on these prints, leading to the speculation that they were not conceived as a coherent group. Perhaps its creation was a marketing tool to solicit subscription orders from collectors.