Kawase Hasui

1883 ~ 1957

Hasui Kawase, born Bunjirō Kawase in 1883 in Tokyo, was one of the leading artists of the shin-hanga movement. After initially studying Western-style painting under Okada Saburōsuke, he became a pupil of the Nihonga master Kaburaki Kiyokata, who gave him the art name Hasui. Following the collapse of his family`s business, he devoted himself entirely to art.
Hasui is best known for his atmospheric landscape prints depicting both famous and lesser-known rural and urban scenes throughout Japan. He traveled extensively across the country, producing sketches and watercolors that later served as the basis for his woodblock prints. His works evoke nostalgia for traditional Japan while celebrating the beauty of nature, and he became particularly renowned for his masterful depictions of snow, rain, and nighttime landscapes.
Most of his prints were published by Shōzaburō Watanabe, the principal publisher of the shin-hanga movement. During the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923, Hasui lost nearly 190 sketchbooks and many woodblocks, yet he continued to create new works and remained highly productive throughout his career.
In 1953, the Japanese government commissioned him to produce "Snow at Zojoji Temple" as part of a project to preserve traditional woodblock-printing techniques. In recognition of his exceptional contribution to Japanese printmaking, Hasui was designated a Living National Treasure in 1956.

Artwork Description Not for Sale
Shiba Zōjō Shrine
A beautiful view of a woman walking along the left side of the main gate of Zōjōji Temple in Tokyo, shielding herself with a paper umbrella from the falling snow on a winter day.
Zōjōji is affiliated with the Jōdō Shū, or Pure Land sect of Buddhism, and serves as the main temple of this sect in the Kantō region. The temple was closely associated with the Tokugawa family, who ruled Japan during the Edo period. Six Tokugawa shōguns are buried in its mausoleum. The main gate, known as Sangedatsumon (三解脱門), is considered the oldest wooden building in Tokyo, dating back to 1622. Today, the Tokyo Tower rises behind the temple, creating a striking contrast between historical and modern Tokyo.
This print is not the original 1925 edition published by Watanabe Shōzaburō, a key figure in the shin hanga movement to which the print belongs. It is a 1934 reproduction, woodblock-printed and issued as the only edition by the Ōsaka Mainichi Publishing Company, distributed as a magazine supplement.